Dew - After looking over the squal data again I tend to agree with your guess. The chemo dosages are 1/3 but they are given weekly in the squal trial and once every 3 weeks in the ecog trial. I believe I'am reading that correctly, it is a bit confusing.
One note, I see no mention of lung bleeding which was a problem in the avastin trials with some patients.
If additional trials are done can they be done using erbitux if erbitux is only approved for CRC? If not, a vegf'r drug better be used.
Other interesting notes on nsclc trials. I would think osip would be a good investment if their data holds up in phase 3, and I would guess it will.
According to researchers at M. D. Anderson, results with a combination of bevacizumab (Avastin™) and erlotinib (Tarceva™) show:
A 21% response rate in 23 patients treated to date with recurrent stage IIIb or stage IV lung cancer
Five patients had a partial response in which their lung tumors shrunk by more than 50%, and in one of those patients, tumor size was reduced and has stabilized for almost a year
A significant number of patients have had minor responses (shrinking of tumors by less than 50%) as well as stabilization of their disease.
IMCLONE data from md anderson web site.
C225, Docetaxel Stops Advanced Lung Cancer
Survival Extended in Majority of Study Patients
Adding biological agent C225 to a standard chemotherapy treatment can extend survival and stabilize the condition of patients with advanced, relapsed non-small cell lung cancer, according to recent clinical trial results.
M. D. Anderson researchers conducting the study found that 65% of 47 patients treated with C225 and the chemotherapy drug, docetaxel (Taxotere®), experienced no further tumor growth, and several patients remain alive almost one year after starting the therapy.
The results are encouraging and merit development of a larger, randomized trial, says the study leader, Edward Kim, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology at M. D. Anderson.
First of its Kind
The study is the only one to test a cocktail of docetaxel chemotherapy and C225 for second-line treatment (after patients stop responding to initial chemotherapy.) All patients had advanced non-small cell lung cancer that was progressing from their original therapy.
The Phase II clinical trial, which is designed to test the safety of the drug combination, was conducted at M. D. Anderson, the University of Chicago and Arlington Cancer Center. The results were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology on May 31.
Known as a monoclonal antibody agent, C225 hooks onto proteins found on the surface of cancer cells, triggering an immune response against the cells. C225 is being tested in other cancers, including cancers of the colon and head and neck . Docetaxel is currently approved for treatment of various cancers including lung cancer and breast cancer.
In the study:
One patient had a complete response, meaning the tumor disappeared
11 patients had a confirmed partial response (tumor shrinkage that lasted at least several months and was verified using a diagnostic CAT scan)
One patient had an unconfirmed partial response (this patient died of unrelated causes before the response could be verified)
18 patients had disease stabilization (tumor growth stopped)
Remaining in the study are five patients, some of whom have been treated with more than 20 tri-weekly cycles of C225.
By the most conservative estimate, tumors shrank in one-quarter (25.5%) of patients in this trial. That’s better than most second-line therapies, which shrink tumors in 5% to 10% of the time, according to Kim. The improved response is not likely due to the use of docetaxel because a large Phase III trial of docetaxel as second line therapy found a response rate of just 6%.
"This is not a home run, but the results are promising," Kim says. "This is the best response rate we have seen in combination, second-line therapy for this advanced cancer."
Randy
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