RE: Arm 24 Feb 2024 09:49
@Thompi, to answer your question:
Over a 6 week period, Arm 2 patients get 3 doses, so the total given over those 6 weeks are 3x160, 3x200, etc, which is 480, 600, etc. If these amounts were administered 3-weekly, as in Arm 1, over 6 weeks the doses would be 2x240, 2x300, etc.
At the highest Arm 2 dose of 310 (3x310=930 over 6 weeks), the equivalent given 3-weekly would be 465 (2x465=930). Whilst a dosage of 465 would be outside the range of the Arm 1 study, this high dose can be achieved by giving 310 every 2 weeks and 310 is well within the range of the Arm 1 study (i.e. no MTD).
Of course, dosing every 2 weeks rather than every 3 weeks gives the body's healthy tissues less time to recover so any changes to the side effects profile will be monitored closely (degradation of the immune system, near permanent mouth ulcers, nausea, etc) as well as efficacy against tumours. Drug development is always risk vs benefit, finding the therapeutic window.