Anti-Angiogenesis Agent To Be Tested With Chemotherapy.(ovarian cancer )

2001 MAY 17 - (NewsRx Network) -- The University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Puget Sound Oncology Consortium will lead a Phase II ovarian cancer clinical trial in the U.S. evaluating the safety and effectiveness of combining standard initial chemotherapy (paditaxe] and carboplatin) with IM862, an anti-angiogenic peptide.

Preclinical research suggests that IM862 stimulates the body's immune system and inhibits the development of blood vessels (angiogenesis) needed by tumors to grow and metastasize. Patients can self-administer the drug as nose drops and it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the mucous membranes. To date, IM862 has been tested in clinical trials involving over 400 cancer patients and has demonstrated a favorable safety profile with generally mild side effects.

Because no reliable means of early detection of ovarian cancer exists, most cases are not diagnosed before they reach an advanced stage. The majority of women with stage III ovarian cancer initially achieve complete remission with surgery and standard chemotherapy. However, many patients relapse with time.

Drs. Pamela J. Paley, a gynecological oncologist at the University of Washington and Leona A. Holmberg, a medical oncologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, will lead the nationwide study. According to the researchers, adding IM862 to standard chemotherapy as initial therapy may have real potential.

"Due to its apparent immune stimulating and angiogenesis inhibiting properties, the addition of IM862 may reduce blood vessels that feed tumor cells, as well as increase the ability ...