HAMBURG, GERMANY -- October 13, 2000 -- Results from clinical studies of
SU5416, an angiogenesis signaling inhibitor, in the treatment of advanced
colorectal cancer were presented during a symposium held as part of the
biennial congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology.
The data show that SU5416 works by inhibiting angiogenesis, the growth of new
blood vessels. In cancer, angiogenesis is the process by which tumors create
their own blood supply to provide nutrients and oxygen essential for their
growth.
In a Phase I/II study of 27 evaluable patients treated with SU5416 in
combination with 5-FU/leucovorin, 37 percent of patients had a complete or
partial response to treatment as patients' tumors were reduced by greater than
50 percent of their original size. Forty-four percent of patients had stable
disease, meaning tumors were unchanged having neither grown nor reduced in
size. Only seven percent of patients showed no response to the treatment. Among
this group of patients with previously untreated advanced cancer, tumor growth
and spread was delayed for a median of 9.0 months. Twenty-one of the 27
patients are still alive, so median survival data is unavailable.
"Our studies suggest that SU5416 may make a significant difference for
patients with colorectal cancer," said Lee Rosen, M.D., Assistant
Professor, Director of Cancer Therapy Development Program, UCLA Medical Center.
"New trials are being initiated across Europe that will allow the European
oncology community and patients to participate in the progress of this exciting
therapy."
Trial sites throughout Europe are being enlisted to continue research of SU5416
in advanced colorectal cancer. SU5416 is also currently being studied in the US
and Germany for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Oral forms of SU5416
are now being evaluated.
SU5416, a synthetic small molecule inhibitor, is novel because it blocks a
protein called the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGF-R). By
blocking the VEGF-R, SU5416 could block the ability of tumors to form blood
vessels, thus starving tumors to slow or halt their growth.