Cancer Headlines Human Genome cancer drug proves safe in phase II trial Results from a phase II clinical trial conducted by Human Genome Sciences have shown that the company's potential cancer treatment HGS-ETR1 is well tolerated and can be administered safely in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. The phase II trial, conducted in Germany, was an open-label study to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of HGS-ETR1 (mapatumumab) as monotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory colorectal cancer. The company believes the results were sufficient to warrant further evaluation of the compound in this indication. A total of 38 patients with recurrent colorectal cancer were enrolled in the trial to receive up to six cycles of treatment in the absence of disease progression. Patients participating in the study had received up to six previous cancer treatment regimens. Although the data showed the drug to be generally safe, one patient discontinued therapy due to an adverse event in which the possible contribution of HGS-ETR1 could not be ruled out completely. Stable disease was observed in 31.6% of the patients treated, with a median duration of 2.6 months. "The medical need for effective new therapeutic agents continues to be significant. The results of the phase II study of HGS-ETR1 in these heavily pretreated patients with relapsed or refractory colorectal cancer, together with preclinical observations, support the continued evaluation of HGS-ETR1 in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of colorectal cancer," said professor Siegfried Seeber, principal investigator and director, University Clinic for Internal Medicine,University of Essen. If the drug does enter phase III development, GlaxoSmithKline will equally share developmental costs following the company's decision to exercise its option under a 1996 agreement to develop and commercialize HGS-ETR1 jointly with Human Genome Sciences.
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Cancer Resources
Stamping Out Childhood CancerBy Alice Wisler September means back to school, but some kids aren't getting on the school bus. Among them are bald-headed children in hospital rooms with chemo running into their veins, kids with dreams and hopes of becoming vets, artists, mechanics, and astronauts. I'm not sure what my son Daniel wanted to be, but I do remember his desire to get his hair back. He fussed one day that people made fun of him. I didn't ever hear anyone, but I'm sure many looked at him and turned away. He didn't see the compassion or pity in their eyes. He just saw his reflection in the mirror and even at age three and four missed his full head of soft blond hair. Some days when I see his hair-less photos I want to turn away. But he'd tell me to fight. If he had lived through the eight months of chemo and radiation for neuroblastoma, that's what he'd tell me. As a nation we need to look. We must take our head out of the sand and believe truth--- kids do get cancer, children of all ages, and of all ethnic groups. One out of every 330 children in the USA will get some form of cancer before age 20. While advances have been made in childhood cancer research, there are still so many miles to go. A petition for a childhood cancer stamp has been in the works for over two years and yet isn't receiving enough attention. There is no stamp to commemorate the fight against this number one killer disease among children and to make us aware of the young innocent victims who need a voice in our society. It's time to bring these children and this disease out into the open. Visit this web site to learn more about the cancer stamp and action you can take to help: http://www.kidscancerstamp.org/ Alice J. Wisler, founder of Daniel's House Publications, lost her 4-year-old to neuroblastoma treatments in 1997. She is an advocate of childhood cancer research. More resources can be found at her web site: http://www.geocities.com/griefhope/index.html Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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