BiTE Therapy Offers Hope for Cancer Treatment

For those who are seeking treatment for Small Cell Lung Cancer, there is an innovative treatment now available called BiTE therapy, a novel form of immunotherapy designed to harness a patient’s own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

Atlanta Jewish Times recently interviewed Piedmont Cancer Institute physician Dr. Trevor Feinstein and Laura Houston, director of marketing for the Institute, to explain what the therapy is and its benefits.

AJT: What is BiTE therapy and why is it innovative?
Feinstein: BiTE therapy, or Bispecific T-cell Engager therapy, is a novel form of immunotherapy designed to harness a patient’s own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
BiTEs are small, engineered antibody proteins with two binding arms, each with a distinct function. One arm binds to CD3, a protein found on all T-cells, making it an ideal target for engaging the immune system. The other arm is designed to bind a specific cancer-associated target. In small cell lung cancer, the BiTE therapy tarlatamab targets DLL3, a protein that is highly expressed on small cell lung cancer cells but has minimal expression in normal tissues.
By simultaneously binding to a T-cell and a cancer cell, the BiTE molecule physically links the two together. This close interaction activates the T-cell, enabling it to directly target and kill the cancer cell. Through this mechanism, BiTE therapy redirects the body’s own immune defenses to selectively attack cancer.

AJT: What is Small Cell Lung Cancer?
Feinstein: Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive type of lung cancer that grows and spreads very rapidly. It most often begins in the central part of the chest, near the large airways.
Because of its fast growth and tendency to spread early, about two-thirds of patients are diagnosed when the disease is already extensive. “Extensive” means the cancer has spread beyond the lungs to other parts of the body, such as the liver, brain, or bones. Once SCLC has spread, it becomes much more difficult to cure.

AJT: What types of therapy were used previously and why is BiTE therapy now preferred?
Feinstein: Historically, patients with small cell lung cancer whose disease progressed during or after platinum-based chemotherapy had limited treatment options, most of which relied on additional chemotherapy. These treatments often provided modest benefit and were associated with significant side effects.
More recently, results from the DeLLphi-304 clinical trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, have highlighted the advantages of BiTE therapy. This study enrolled 509 patients with small cell lung cancer whose disease had progressed during or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients were randomized to receive either standard-of-care chemotherapy or tarlatamab, a BiTE therapy targeting DLL3.
Treatment with tarlatamab resulted in significantly longer overall survival compared with chemotherapy. Patients also experienced improvements in cancer-related symptoms, including reduced shortness of breath and coughing. In addition, tarlatamab was associated with fewer adverse events and a lower rate of treatment discontinuation than chemotherapy.
Based on these findings, tarlatamab received FDA approval for the treatment of small cell lung cancer following progression on platinum-based chemotherapy, establishing BiTE therapy as a preferred option in this setting.

AJT: Can you elaborate on the benefits of BiTE therapy?
Houston: Hearing the words “you have cancer” changes life in an instant. Fear, uncertainty, and worry often take over, leaving patients overwhelmed by what comes next. Yet today, more than ever, a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. Advances in early detection, targeted therapies, immunotherapy, genetic testing, and supportive care have transformed oncology. Many cancers can now be treated effectively, managed long term, or even cured, giving patients more options, more time, and renewed hope.
Survival rates continue to rise, especially when patients receive timely, personalized care. Precision medicine and innovative treatments are turning illnesses once considered life-ending into manageable conditions. People are not only living longer, but living better, with improved quality of life, fewer side effects, and stronger support throughout treatment. Each year, new therapies are approved, changing what was once the “worst day” of someone’s life into the beginning of a survivable journey.
The cancer experience is shaped not only by available treatments, but also by where and how care is delivered. Increasingly, patients are turning to private oncology practices, where care is personal, compassionate, and centered on the individual rather than the system.
Private practices offer a critical advantage during a vulnerable time: continuity of care. Patients are treated by a consistent team that knows them as people, not charts. Long-term relationships between physicians, staff, and patients build trust, improve communication, and support truly individualized treatment planning.
Access is another strength. Private oncology clinics often provide quicker appointments and fewer delays, allowing patients to begin treatment sooner — an important factor both medically and emotionally. These settings are typically calmer and more welcoming, helping reduce anxiety during an already difficult journey.
Cost transparency also matters. Without the added facility fees common in hospital systems, private practices often result in lower out-of-pocket costs for the same treatments.
While cancer remains serious, it is no longer hopeless. With modern medicine and the personalized, accessible care offered by private oncology practices, patients can move forward with clarity, strength, and genuine optimism for the future.

BiTE therapy is offered at a pair of Piedmont Cancer Institute locations: 1800 Howell Mill Road Suite 800 in Atlanta, and 1267 Highway 54 West Suite 4200 in Fayetteville.

For more information, please call Piedmont Cancer Institute at 404-350-9853 or visit PiedmontCancerInstitute.com.