Carfilzomib and TGR-1202 in Treatment of R/R Lymphoma

Dysregulated c-Myc is associated with resistance to chemotherapy and poor survival in aggressive lymphomas. Novel strategies that target this biology could markedly improve the outcome of these participants. To date no drugs that directly target Myc have been approved for cancer treatment. Recent results by Deng et al. (Blood. 2017 Jan 5. PMID: 27784673) described a highly synergistic regimen discovered in preclinical models, through combining TGR-1202, an investigational drug that inhibits PI3K delta, and carfilzomib, a drug approved by the FDA for multiple myeloma. Importantly, the combination of TGR-1202 and carfilzomib acts by potently silencing the translation of c-Myc and inducing apoptosis in many cell lines and primary lymphoma cells representing broad histological subtypes of lymphoma. These results suggest that TGR-1202 and carfilzomib may be highly effective in relapsed and refractory lymphoma where c-Myc plays a key pathological role.