Provenge is an investigational product that may represent the first in a new class of active cellular immunotherapies that are uniquely designed to stimulate a patient’s own immune system.
The trial measured CD54 upregulation on antigen presenting cells as part of the Provenge product release testing prior to administration to patients.
Results showed a significant correlation between cumulative CD54 upregulation and survival for patients treated with Dendreon’s Provenge.
“CD54 cell count and CD54 upregulation are important biologically-relevant measures used to assess the potency of Provenge prior to patient administration,” said David Urdal, chief scientific officer of Dendreon. “The demonstration that there is a correlation between cumulative CD54 upregulation and clinical outcome suggests that our potency assay for Provenge measures an important and meaningful attribute of this product.”
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in the US and the third most common cancer worldwide. More than one million men in the US have prostate cancer, with an estimated 232,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed each year.