I have sponsor, regulatory and IRB permissions/approval to post this blog publicly on social media. I am very excited about this protocol using intra-tumoral modified Polio viral therapy for patients with metastatic melanomas.
Lerapolturev (formerly known as PVSRIPO) is a type of oncolytic virus that is currently being studied for the treatment of melanoma. An oncolytic virus is a type of virus that has been genetically engineered to selectively infect and kill cancer cells. Specifically, Lerapolturev is a modified form of the poliovirus, which has been designed to target and destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed.
Lerapolturev works by infecting cancer cells and replicating inside them, causing the cancer cells to die. In addition, the virus can stimulate the immune system to attack the cancer, which may help to improve the effectiveness of cancer treatment.
Lerapolturev is administered through a procedure called intralesional injection. This involves injecting the virus directly into the melanoma tumors. The injection is typically given under local anesthesia in a doctor’s office or clinic. The exact dosing and administration schedule may vary depending on the individual patient and the specifics of their melanoma, but the injections are usually given every two to three weeks.
Patients on this clinical trial will be randomized to receive Lerapolturev alone or in combination with an Anti-PD1 (i.e. Pembrolizumab or Nivolumab)
According to recent publications, Lerapolturev injections were well tolerated with no serious side effects noted. Most side effects were noted to be low grade with the most common side effect being pruritis (58%). Four out of 12 patients (33%) achieved an objective response per immune-related response criteria. In the four patients with in-transit disease, a pathological complete response (pCR) was observed in two (50%) patients. Following study completion, 11/12 patients (92%) reinitiated immune checkpoint inhibitor-based therapy, and 6/12 patients (50%) remained without progression at a median follow-up time of 18 months.
While the research is still ongoing, early results have been promising, and Lerapolturev is considered a promising area of cancer research. See initial patient responses in published Phase 1 trial below!
