Genitope initiates MyVax leukemia trial

MyVax personalized immunotherapy is based on the unique genetic makeup of a patient’s own tumor, and is designed to activate the patient’s immune system to fight cancer.

Nine leading North American cancer centers will begin registering approximately 70 patients in a phase I/II clinical trial to investigate MyVax personalized immunotherapy for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Men and women 18 years of age or older who have been diagnosed with CLL Rai stage 0, I and II, and who are untreated may be eligible for the study. Eligible patients will receive a series of 16 injections of his or her custom-made immunotherapy over a 52-week period.

“The goals of this phase I/II study are to determine whether MyVax personalized immunotherapy can induce anti-tumor immune responses that can eradicate or block the progression of leukemia and to ascertain the tolerability of this innovative approach as a therapy for CLL,” explained the study’s lead investigator, Dr Tom Kipps, professor of medicine, head of the hematologic malignancies program and deputy director for research at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego.