Dr. Maki on the Utility of Tazemetostat in Epithelioid Sarcoma

Robert G. Maki, MD, PhD, FACP, FASCO, clinical director, Sarcoma Program, Abramson Cancer Center, Penn Medicine, discusses the utility of tazemetostat (Tazverik) in epithelioid sarcoma.

Many of the novel drugs that are introduced to the sarcoma paradigm are targeted toward specific disease subtypes, Maki explains.

For example, in January 2020, the FDA granted an accelerated approval to tazemetostat for the treatment of patients with metastatic or locally advanced epithelioid sarcoma that is not eligible for complete resection.

The approval was based on findings from the phase 2 Study EZH-202 trial in which tazemetostat elicited a 15% objective response rate among 62 patients with epithelioid sarcoma.

Although the response rates were modest, epithelioid sarcoma is an exceedingly rare sarcoma subtype that requires new therapeutic options, Maki explains. Moreover, minimal adverse effects were reported with tazemetostat.

Going forward, novel combinations with tazemetostat in other tumor types where EZH2 mutations are present are anticipated, concludes Maki.