May 22, 2000

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A combination of radiation and a new drug is targeting one of cancer’s basic genetic defects with “excellent” initial results in treating patients with advanced head and neck cancer. The findings were spotlighted on May 23 by a University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) cancer specialist at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in New Orleans.

Dr. James A. Bonner, chairman of the UAB department of radiation oncology, said results of the combination therapy were so promising in Phase I trials that a randomized, multi-center trial involving 400 patients is now underway.

The new drug, IMC-C225, targets a site on the tumors’ cell surface that effectively stops the tumors from growing and makes them more vulnerable to radiation. The drug is designed to block the portal on the cell that uses a chemical signal called epidermal growth factor (EGF). Other clinical experiments are employing IMC-C225 in combination with chemotherapy to fight various kinds of cancer.

All 15 patients studied in the initial trial responded to the drug, with 87% having a complete response. Doctors would expect only a 30-50 percent response with radiation alone, Bonner said. Radiation alone is a standard therapy for cancers that cannot be surgically removed.

Of the 15 patients in the trial who were followed for more than 18 months, nine (60 percent) are still alive, compared to expected survival of 20-45 percent. “This is not a home run yet, but it’s very encouraging,” he said. “It’s highly unusual for to see a majority of patients with advanced head and neck cancer living for two years or more.”