The phase I dose escalation study treated 22 patients with advanced solid tumors. All patients had previously been treated for cancer, and the majority had received surgery in addition to chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
A total of 15 different tumor types were treated, including melanoma, breast, colorectal, non-small cell lung cancer and lymphoma. Clinical responses were observed in 44% of the treated lesions, including complete and partial responses in two patients with melanoma.
Patients treated with INGN 241 had increases in a subset of T-cells that help to destroy cancer cells, which is consistent with the role of MDA-7, the active component of INGN 241, as a member of the interleukin family of immune stimulating proteins.
“These data are very encouraging and provided the rationale for advancing INGN 241 to phase II clinical development,” said Dr Robert Sobol, senior vice president of medical and scientific Affairs at Introgen.