November 4th, 2011
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov 3, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — OXiGENE, Inc. OXGN -33.33% , a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, announced final results today from the FALCON trial, a stratified, randomized, controlled Phase 2 study of ZYBRESTAT(TM) (fosbretabulin tromethamine, or CA4P) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The final analysis of the data showed that the combination regimen of ZYBRESTAT plus bevacizumab, carboplatin and paclitaxel (ZYBRESTAT arm) was observed to be well-tolerated with no significant cumulative toxicities or overlapping toxicities with bevacizumab when compared with the control arm of the study (standard chemotherapy plus bevacizumab). In addition, an analysis of patients with tumor burden greater than 10 cm suggested meaningful improvements in overall survival for patients receiving ZYBRESTAT in addition to bevacizumab and chemotherapy. For patients with this large tumor burden, median overall survival was 14.2 months, compared with 11.0 months for patients on the control arm of the study. For the overall patient population, no survival benefit was observed for patients receiving ZYBRESTAT.
November 4th, 2011
November 3, 2011 — Adding the targeted agent cetuximab (Erbitux) to chemotherapy significantly improves overall survival in some patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and an approach to identifying the patients who will benefit has now been found.
The finding comes from an analysis of the FLEX study, published online November 4 in the Lancet Oncology. It was presented earlier this year at the World Conference on Lung Cancer, and reported at the time by Medscape Medical News.
The analysis shows that NSCLC patients who have a high expression of epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR) in their tumors have the best response when cetuximab (a monoclonal antibody directed against EGFR) is added to chemotherapy. This high EGFR expression was found in 31% of patients who were tested.
November 3rd, 2011
PALO ALTO, Calif.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–CollabRx, the company that leverages information technology to inform personalized cancer treatment planning, announces the release of a Targeted Therapy Finder application (“app”) for lung cancer. Targeted Therapy Finder apps are dynamically updated online resources that enable physicians and patients to identify diagnostic tests and clinical trials associated with therapies that “target” the unique genetic profiles of patients’ tumors. The Targeted Therapy Finder – Lung Cancer app builds on the success of the first such app released by CollabRx earlier this year for melanoma. The melanoma app was created in partnership with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) as a first-of-its kind resource for cancer patients and physicians.
Lung cancer is one of the most common cancer types in the U.S. (and worldwide) and is by far the most lethal, resulting in an estimated 150,000 deaths in 2011, according to the American Cancer Society. Lung cancer is responsible for more cancer-related deaths in women than breast and ovarian cancers combined. Some forms of the disease can be treated with targeted therapies (particularly for women), and CollabRx’ Targeted Therapy Finder app was developed to bring this knowledge to the people who need it most.
The Targeted Therapy Finder – Lung Cancer is available now at www.collabrx.com/lung. The app allows physicians and patients to input information about their disease – including the stage of progression, type of lung cancer histology, status of genetic mutations known to have implications for treatment, and sites of metastasis, if any. It then provides personalized treatment-related recommendations, based on peer-reviewed medical and scientific content, that may be of use to the patient and physician, such as identification of potential drugs, diagnostics and clinical trials that may have utility in the specific form of lung cancer selected. The app content is kept up-to-date by a team of scientists and top cancer experts, such as Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, a professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, who continually monitor the scientific literature to stay abreast of new developments in the field.
October 27th, 2011
MDxHealth SA (NYSE Euronext: MDXH), a leading molecular diagnostics company in the field of personalized cancer treatment, today announced the results of a study indicating that several of its epigenetic biomarkers are able to confirm the presence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from routinely collected sputum samples of patients with stages I-IV of the disease. MDxHealth is developing a molecular diagnostic test, ConfirmMDx for Lung Cancer TM, to help physicians accurately assess the presence or absence of cancer genes. These important new data will be presented at the 5 th EORTC – NCI – ASCO Annual Meeting on Molecular Markers in Cancer in Brussels, Belgium (October 27-29)
In this particular NSCLC study based on samples from 92 patients, epigenetic analysis of MDxHealth’s proprietary biomarker RASSF1A, in combination with three other markers (TAC1, GREM1 and HOXA9), resulted in high sensitivity and specificity values of 75-80% and 90-96%, respectively. MDxHeath plans to conduct additional clinical studies to further optimize its ConfirmMDx TM lung cancer test.
October 22nd, 2011
Experimental Vaccine Targets a Protein Linked to Many Cases of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
By Matt McMillen, WebMD Health News, Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD
Oct. 21, 2011 — A cancer vaccine shows potential to slow the spread of cancer among lung cancer patients, a study shows.
The experimental vaccine targets a protein linked to more than half of all cases of non-small-cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer.
The study is published in The Lancet Oncology.
The study was conducted in Europe and included 148 patients with advanced lung cancer. It was led by Elisabeth Quiox, MD, a professor of pneumonology at the Université de Strasbourg, France.
The patients were divided into two groups. Both groups received standard chemotherapy while one group received the experimental vaccine known as TG4010. The vaccine stimulates the immune system to destroy cancer cells.
October 19th, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A new patent covering tumor suppression technologies, including the company’s lead product candidate Oncoprex™, was recently awarded to The University of Texas System by the Japan Patent Office. Patent number 4813746 pertains to the discovery that chromosome 3p21.3 genes act as cancer suppressors. The family of tumor suppressors include TUSC2, also known as FUS1, the anti-cancer agent in Oncoprex therapy which is undergoing clinical evaluation for lung cancer patients in the U.S.
October 14th, 2011
Tanya Pollitt, Denver Science News Examiner
A new test, developed at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, helps reduces the risk of death by 36 percent in advanced lung cancer by identifying a biomarker known as the EGFR protein.
In a press release, Professor Fred R. Hirsch of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, co-developer of the test, said, “We are moving from a one-size-fits-all model to more personalized medicine in lung cancer. This is a completely new paradigm in treating cancer.”
October 11th, 2011
PLANEGG, GERMANY and MUNICH, GERMANY and PRINCETON, NJ and HOUSTON, TX, Oct 11, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Agennix AG (frankfurt:AGX) today announced that data from a Phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating the oral immunotherapy, talactoferrin, in patients with previously treated
non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Journal of Clinical Oncology. The article, “A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase II Study of Oral Talactoferrin in Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer that Progressed Following Chemotherapy,” by P. Parikh et al, will appear in the November 1, 2011 print issue of the journal. As previously reported, this study, conducted in patients with NSCLC for whom one or more prior lines of anti-cancer therapy had failed, achieved its primary endpoint of improvement in overall survival. Talactoferrin also appeared to improve survival across a broad range of patient subsets, including those with squamous and non-squamous histologies, as well as other important prognostic factors. The results of this study served as the basis for the ongoing talactoferrin Phase III FORTIS-M trial, which is being conducted in patients whose disease has progressed following two or more prior treatment regimens. The FORTIS-M study has completed enrollment and topline results are expected in the first half of 2012.
October 7th, 2011
CLEVELAND, Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Advanced imaging with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans shows great promise in predicting which patients with inoperable lung cancer have more aggressive tumors and need additional treatment following standard chemotherapy/radiation therapy, according to new research.
Mitch Machtay, MD, of the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and principle investigator for the study, presented the significant data today at 2 pm at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in Miami Beach, Fla. The National Cancer Institute-funded trial, led by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) in collaboration with Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), enrolled 251 patients at 60 cancer centers around the country.
“Lung cancer remains the number one cancer killer in the United States. These findings have the potential to give cancer physicians a new tool to more effectively tailor treatments for patients with locally advanced lung cancer,” says Dr. Machtay, Chairman of Radiation Oncology at UH Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “This cooperative group study determined that the PET scan can show us which patients have the most aggressive tumors, potentially enabling us to intensify their treatment.”
October 4th, 2011
BURLINGTON, N.C., Oct 03, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Laboratory Corporation of America(R) Holdings (LabCorp(R)) (NYSE: LH) announced today the nationwide availability of a new FDA-approved companion diagnostic for lung cancer patients.
The drug XALKORI(R), available from Pfizer, and Abbott Molecular’s Vysis ALK Break Apart FISH Probe companion diagnostic test were simultaneously approved by the FDA on August 26, 2011 for use in patients with advanced ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The Vysis ALK Break Apart FISH Probe test detects all ALK gene rearrangements and is the only available diagnostic assay that has been clinically validated to predict response to the targeted therapy XALKORI. An estimated 6,500-11,000 individuals will develop advanced ALK-positive NSCLC in the United States in 2011.
