The claudin 6–targeted antibody-drug conjugate ixotatug vedotin showed antitumor activity in recurrent germ cell tumors, including after transplant.
Commentary|Videos|October 24, 2026
Dr Feldman on Ixotatug Vedotin in Heavily Pretreated Recurrent Germ Cell Tumors
Author(s)Darren R Feldman, MD
Fact checked by: Riley Kandel, Chris Ryan
Darren R. Feldman, MD, details early response and disease control findings with a claudin 6–directed antibody-drug conjugate in relapsed germ cell tumors.
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"Five of 11 patients achieved an objective response, which is notable in this very difficult-to-treat population…One patient had an ongoing response at 4 years from the time of initiation."
Darren R. Feldman, MD, a genitourinary medical oncologist and section head of Germ Cell Cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discussed
Findings from the GCT cohort of the first-in-human dose-escalation and expansion study were presented at the
The GCT cohort was small and heavily pretreated, Feldman explained. Of the 11 patients enrolled, 10 were male and 10 had nonseminomatous disease. Nine patients had received at least 3 prior lines of chemotherapy, and 6 had undergone high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant (HDCT/ASCT), he added. Since the study involved dose escalation, the dataset included patients treated across multiple dose levels, which ranged from less than 2.4 mg/kg to 3.4 mg/kg every 3 weeks.
Responses were observed across this broad range of doses, Feldman said. The overall response rate (ORR) was 45.5% (95% CI, 16.7%-76.6%), and all 5 responses were partial. The disease control rate was 72.7% (95% CI, 39.0%-94.0%), and at a median follow-up of 13.8 months, the median progression-free survival was 5.8 months (95% CI, 1.4-13.8).
Feldman highlighted that responses extended to patients who had exhausted intensive options: 3 of the 6 patients who had received prior HDCT/ASCT achieved an objective response.
Although the duration of response data remain immature, one patient with testicular GCT was still responding at the March 2026 data cutoff, nearly 4 years after beginning treatment, Feldman said. In at least this one case, the response to ixotatug vedotin has been durable, he concluded.
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