- Proprietary Gene Therapy Found To Downregulate Expression of HER-2/neu Oncogene -
LOS ANGELES, CA, MAY 18, 1998 - Targeted Genetics Corporation (Nasdaq: TGEN) today announced additional Phase I results of its E1A gene therapy for the treatment of breast and head and neck cancers at the 34th Annual Meeting of The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
In a poster presentation titled "Phase I trial of intratumoral liposomal-E1A gene therapy in patients with recurrent/refractory breast cancer and head and neck cancer," researchers demonstrated intratumoral delivery of the E1A gene using a proprietary non-viral liposomal delivery mechanism, subsequent downregulation of HER-2/neu expression and tumor responses. E1A is a tumor inhibitor gene. Previous laboratory and animal studies have demonstrated E1A's ability to inhibit tumor growth and suppress metastases, induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) and reverse the overexpression of HER-2/neu, a cancer-causing gene. In patients with cancer, overexpression of the HER-2/neu oncogene is correlated with poor prognoses, increased metastasis and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. In Phase I data presented earlier this year, Naoto Ueno, M.D., and colleagues at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center reported that in three of three patients with breast and ovarian cancer treated with E1A a downregulation of HER-2/neu was observed, suggesting that overexpression of HER-2/neu can be reversed by the injection of the E1A gene.
A team of researchers at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center led by James L. Murray,
M.D., Professor of Medicine, Director Immunotherapy and Vaccine Program, along
with colleagues at Targeted Genetics and Wayne State University, conducted the
research presented at ASCO. The Phase I dose-escalation study treated nine
patients with recurrent and unresectable breast cancer and nine patients with
head and neck cancer. In 16 patients evaluable for re
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Contact: Amy Flood
a.flood@noonanrusso.com
212-696-4455 ext 211
Noonan/Russo Communications
18-May-1998