Thanks flipper, it will be interesting to see what more news they have for us at Asco and in the pending journal, I also cannot wait for LL speaking on the results when she is able to do so. LL is due to speak at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho June 18 – 22, 2022 but I am not sure if she is still able or if we hear anything from this meeting :-)
The tumor response rate is the most commonly used surrogate endpoint in early cancer trials since it allows an early determination of anti-tumor activity, which may correlate to extended survival. Some immune checkpoint inhibitors were even approved on the basis of tumor response end points in nonrandomized trials.
In an interview a couple years ago with Al Musella, Stephen Brem said, “They’re looking at radiological markers. We do need a better biomarker that would really make all these trials to be more meaningful and be able to stop an effective trial, be able to accelerate effective when we see effective.” ( I transcribed the relevant part of the interview here)
So yes, if Northwest Bio can identify biomarkers that show that tumor response can predict longer survival, and is a meaningful endpoint, that would be huge, not only for this trial, but all future trials.