Lixte Biotechnology’s LB-100 Reported to Convert Immunologically Unresponsive (“Cold”) Tumors to Immunologically Responsive (“Hot”) Tumors
PASADENA, CA, Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIXT), a clinical-stage drug discovery company developing pharmacologically active drugs for use in cancer treatment, announced today that in preclinical studies its lead clinical compound, LB-100, a protein phosphatase (PP2A) inhibitor, was found to increase the responsiveness of diverse cancers to immunotherapy. In Nature Communications (15 Dec 2021), lead author Yu-Ting Yen and colleagues at the China Medical University and Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan reported that treatment with LB-100 is associated with new antigen production, tumor infiltration of cytotoxic T cells, and enhanced responsiveness to immune checkpoint blockade in mouse models of colorectal, triple-negative breast, and pancreatic cancer. The authors state that “these data indicate that PP2A inhibition can be used to change the intrinsic and extrinsic factors of tumors to improve the success rate of anti-cancer immunotherapy.”
- There are widespread efforts to find pharmacologic and/or immunologic ways to turn unresponsive (cold) tumors into responsive (hot) tumors.
- Cancers with a molecular abnormality termed microsatellite-instability (MSI) stemming from a defect in a DNA repair enzyme are generally hot tumors, that is, tumors responsive to immunotherapy.
- raise the possibility that the addition of LB-100 to immunotherapy may be a simple way to convert cold into hot tumors, thereby increasing the percentage of patients responsive to immunotherapy.
- This discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at sec.gov/edgar.shtml.