Phase II results of cancer vaccine considered "encouraging".

2003 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antigenics, Inc., (AGEN) reported that more than half of patients in a phase II clinical trial of the company's personalized cancer vaccine Oncophage (HSPPC-96) had significant immunological response.

More than half of the 29 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who received Oncophage demonstrated significant immunological response - which not only appeared to be correlated with clinical response but also found to be an independent factor for prognosis, the company reported.

"These findings provide encouraging support that immunological response to Oncophage vaccination may be associated with clinical benefit in this patient population," said Jonathan J. Lewis, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of Antigenics. "In addition, the observed immunological mechanism of action has been found to be consistent across all cancer types evaluated to date, which supports the notion that Oncophage may be useful in the treatment of a broad range of cancers."

Derived from each individual's tumor, Oncophage contains the 'antigenic fingerprint' of the patient's particular cancer, and is designed to reprogram the body's immune system to target and destroy only cancer cells bearing this fingerprint. Oncophage is intended to leave healthy tissue unaffected and limit the debilitating side effects associated with traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

The study evaluated 29 patients with stage IV colorectal cancer that had spread to the liver, who had undergone complete resection (surgical removal) of their metastasized disease. Surgery, which provided the tumor tissue used to produce the personalized Oncophage vaccines, was followed by two cycles of ...