Salute e Benessere
'Highly Accurate': Telix's Phase III ZIRCON Trial for Kidney Cancer Imaging Published in The Lancet Oncology
Authors explain that small masses in the kidney are increasingly being detected incidentally when patients undergo abdominal imaging, often for other health conditions, contributing to "an era of gross overtreatment". Diagnosis and treatment are limited by current imaging techniques, and renal mass biopsy is invasive, which can often lead to complications. Up to 30% of patients undergo unnecessary surgery, removing masses that are later determined to be benign . If confirmed, however, ccRCC is the most common and aggressive form of kidney cancer, and delays in diagnosis can significantly reduce survival rates.
Professor Brian Shuch , MD, Director of the Kidney Cancer Program and the Alvin & Carrie Meinhardt Endowed Chair in Kidney Cancer Research at UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology, and a ZIRCON principal investigator, said, "Until now, assessing whether renal masses are cancerous has been difficult and often involves invasive surgery or percutaneous biopsy. This is because standard imaging technology – either a CT or MRI scan – cannot reliably differentiate between benign or malignant renal lesions or provide information about disease biology.
"The challenges and uncertainty in diagnosing ccRCC underscore a critical unmet need for a new, non-invasive technique that accurately detects and differentiates ccRCC from other renal masses in patients, to inform clinical decision making. The ZIRCON trial has shown that TLX250-CDx is a breakthrough technology that can address this need."
TLX250-CDx is a zirconium-89 ( Zr) radiolabelled monoclonal antibody that targets carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), a tumour-associated antigen highly expressed in ccRCC. Following successful Phase I and II trials to establish safety and preliminary efficacy, the ZIRCON trial was designed to assess sensitivity and specificity of TLX250-CDx PET/CT imaging to non-invasively detect ccRCC in patients with cT1 IRMs (≤7 cm in diameter) who underwent nephrectomy, using central histological confirmation as standard of truth.
Dr David N. Cade , Chief Medical Officer at Telix said, "The results of the ZIRCON trial make a compelling case for TLX250-CDx as a breakthrough product for kidney cancer imaging, and validate CAIX as a novel target to accurately identify renal cell carcinoma.
"Professor Shuch and his co-investigators, at 36 sites worldwide, found that its high diagnostic performance, including for very small lesions, may support early and accurate diagnosis, inform patient risk stratification and clinical decision making, and reduce over- and under-treatment. We believe this result will lead to improved patient outcomes".
If approved by the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA), TLX250-CDx will be the first and only targeted PET agent specifically for kidney cancer to be commercially available in the U.S.
The full paper can be found at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(24)00402-9/fulltext
TLX250-CDx (Zircaix® ) is an investigational radiodiagnostic PET agent that is under development to characterise IRMs as ccRCC or non-ccRCC in a non-invasive manner. Telix's pivotal Phase III ZIRCON trial evaluating TLX250-CDx in 300 patients, of which 284 were evaluable, was completed in 2022 and met all primary and secondary endpoints .
Telix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of therapeutic and diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals and associated medical devices. Telix is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia , with international operations in the United States , Europe ( Belgium and Switzerland ), and Japan . Telix is developing a portfolio of clinical and commercial stage products that aims to address significant unmet medical needs in oncology and rare diseases. Telix is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: TLX).
Telix's lead imaging product, gallium-68 ( Ga) gozetotide injection (also known as Ga PSMA-11 and marketed under the brand name Illuccix®), has been approved by the FDA , by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) , and by Health Canada . No other Telix product has received a marketing authorisation in any jurisdiction.
Visit www.telixpharma.com for further information about Telix, including details of the latest share price, announcements made to the ASX, investor and analyst presentations, news releases, event details and other publications that may be of interest. You can also follow Telix on X and LinkedIn.
Ms. Kyahn Williamson
Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited
SVP Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Email: kyahn.williamson@telixpharma.com
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