Toripalimab Becomes First Immunotherapy Drug Approved for Nasopharyngeal Cancer
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first immunotherapy drug for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a type of head and neck cancer. The approval of toripalimab (Loqtorzi) , announced on October 27, was based on results of two clinical trials conducted in Asia, where NPC is much more common than in most other parts of the world. Both trials were sponsored by Shanghai Junshi Biosciences, which developed the drug. FDA’s approval of the drug — the first approval of toripalimab in the United States — covers its use as an initial treatment for people with NPC that has come back (recurred) or spread to other parts of the body (metastatic). The approval also includes using toripalimab on its own for people with recurrent or metastatic NPC that has gotten worse on or after standard chemotherapy. The approval should immediately change the way that people with NPC are treated in this country, said Barbara Burtness, M.D., a head and ne...