Ooops, INGN had another round in it:
>>Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN - News) and its collaborators at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center made available preliminary data from a phase 2 study in patients with locally advanced breast cancer indicating that Advexin can be safely combined with a two-drug standard chemotherapy regimen and that 90 percent of the patients had major responses to the therapy. The data (Abstract # 967) was published in conjunction with the 39th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology being held in Chicago, IL and is available in the published proceedings.
Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli, assistant professor of breast medical oncology at M. D. Anderson, and principal investigator said, "These patients are typically difficult to treat because of the advanced nature of their disease. We use neoadjuvant therapy to shrink the large tumors before surgery and radiotherapy to improve patient outcomes. Our hypothesis is that Advexin can improve our current neoadjuvant regimen."
The phase 2 study is evaluating Advexin therapy combined with systemic Taxotere, marketed by Aventis, and Adriamycin, marketed by Pharmacia, in locally advanced breast cancer and is being administered prior to surgery. Locally advanced breast cancer accounts for 5 to 15 percent of newly diagnosed breast cancer cases in the United States. After 4 months of neoadjuvant therapy, patients in the study underwent standard surgery to remove any residual cancer and then had post operative therapy. The tumor status was evaluated at the time of surgery. The primary endpoint of the study was the complete pathological remission rate at the time of surgery. Ninety percent of the patients treated had clinical complete responses or partial responses. Pathological examination revealed only scattered residual tumor cells. No patients had progressive disease.
"We have seen very few side effects," says Cristofanilli. "A few patients experienced irritation at the site of injection, but that lasted for only a couple of days. The fact that we have not seen any progression is important for patients with breast cancer. This treatment could eventually be applied to breast cancer patients with every stage of disease."
"This study is an important part of Introgen's development plan for Advexin because we are administering the drug in the setting of primary, multi-modality local therapy of cancer in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy," said Dr. James Merritt, Introgen's chief medical officer. "A detailed analysis of these patients compared to previous patients treated with the chemotherapy alone is in progress to determine the full measure of clinical efficacy effect of Advexin in this clinical setting."
Advexin supplies p53 protein in very high concentrations in cancer tissue which selectively kills cancer cells while not harming the surrounding normal cells. P53 is a normal constituent of cells and is known as a tumor suppressor because it provides a powerful halt signal on cell growth. One of the major roles of this protein is to recognize when the cell has been damaged by mutation and stop cell growth to initiate repair. If the cell is heavily damaged and beyond repair, p53 initiates the cell death pathway to prevent the cell from growing out of control. Scientists refer to this process as apoptosis. Apoptosis, or cell death, is a normal process that the body uses to eliminate damaged cells, precancerous cells and cells that are no longer necessary.
In about half the cases of aggressive breast cancer, the p53 gene is mutated so that protein is no longer available in proper amounts to control cell growth. In the cancers where the p53 gene is still normal, the function of the p53 protein can be disrupted in other ways such as sequestration and rapid decay. Loss of p53 is associated with more aggressive tumors that are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Loss of p53 is also associated with early metastasis and decreased survival rates.
Prospective patients and/or referring physicians who would like to learn more about the study, should call the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Information Line at (800) 392-1611.<<
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However, my Mom still owns some. I don't own anyhing here now, but she owns GNVC, INGN, CALP, CIPH, TELK, AMEV, NUVO, & LSBC. She's not the swing trader I am.
Cheers, Tuck |
