UCLA CANCER DRUG RESEARCH RESULTS ENCOURAGING.Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff WriterTwo patients with different types of cancer have shown ``clinically meaningful responses'' to an experimental drug that robs tumors of the blood vessels Blood vessels Tubular channels for blood transport, of which there are three principal types: arteries, capillaries, and veins. Only the larger arteries and veins in the body bear distinct names. they need for nourishment, a UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX cancer researcher said Tuesday. Dr. Lee Rosen, director of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center's cancer therapy development program, unveiled his findings Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, is an organization that represents all clinical oncologists. Every year, ASCO holds a large symposium where physicians and researchers meet to convey and discuss research and ideas. , which ended Tuesday at the Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center (abbreviated LACC) is a convention center in downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, and was best known to video games fans as host to E3 until its cessation in 2006. . Rosen said two of 30 cancer patients improved after receiving the anti-angiogenesis drug, SU5416, during a Phase I safety study. ``It's promising. It's interesting,'' Rosen said, ``but let's wait to see what it really leads to.'' Rosen said the drug blocks the development of new blood vessels that tumors rely on for growth. In a male patient with Kaposi's sarcoma Kaposi's sarcoma (käp`əshē', kəpō`sē), a usually fatal cancer that was considered rare until its appearance in AIDS patients. , a cancer marked by dark lesions on the skin, the drug slowed fluid loss, Rosen said. ``He was requiring all kinds of infusions to hold onto that fluid,'' Rosen said. ``With the drugs, that markedly went away. We can really say that drug is having some effect.'' The drug also shrank malignant lung tumors in a woman with colon cancer colon cancer, cancer of any part of the colon (often called the large intestine). Colon cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the United States. but didn't stop the growth of a lesion on her liver, Rosen said. ``After 20 weeks of the experimental drug, her airway partially opened up and the tumors shrank but she developed another lesion,'' Rosen said. ``These are two examples that are clinically meaningful.'' Of the 28 remaining patients, nine to 10 have yet to be evaluated. Others left the study because their disease continued to progress, Rosen said. The results have generated cautious excitement among cancer patients, pharmaceutical companies and other oncologists at the conference, Rosen said. Since the preliminary findings became news, the Jonsson Cancer Center has received more than 700 calls, Rosen said. Now, about 80 people are on a waiting list to participate in the clinical trial of SU5416, Rosen said. ``People are very interested,'' he said. ``They want to know what this is about especially in light of the media attention.'' In response to the overwhelming demand, researchers have doubled the number of new patients they're admitting to the clinical trial - from three patients every three weeks to six patients every three weeks, Rosen said. SUGEN Inc., the Redwood City-based biopharmaceutical company sponsoring the study, also announced this week that it is conducting further studies of SU5416 in patients with Kaposi's sacrcoma who have not responded to current treatment. SUGEN is a publicly traded company publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. on NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on , under the symbol: SUGN. The Phase I and II clinical trials will take place at five U.S. medical centers specializing in AIDS-related malignancies, including the Jonsson Cancer Center. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion