FDA Approves New Use for Immunotherapy Drug in Mesothelioma Treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan drug designation last week to the immunotherapy vaccine CRS-207, moving it one step closer to changing the way malignant pleural mesothelioma is treated. CRS-207 is derived from Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that causes the serious infection listeriosis. For the vaccine, the bacteria are weakened and genetically modified to produce an anti-tumor response without causing disease. Early results are impressive. The vaccine produced a 94 percent rate of disease control, either partial response or stable disease, according to a presentation made at the latest International Mesothelioma Interest Group (IMIG) conference. At time of presentation, estimated progression-free survival was 7.5 months. "This is an exciting therapeutic avenue that will save many more lives, or at least allow extra quality time for mesothelioma patients," Dr. Tawee Tanvetyanon, oncologist at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, told Asbestos.com. "It is very promising. It could change the paradigm in the management of mesothelioma." Join a Clinical Trial CRS-207 now is part of a multicenter phase I clinical trial that researchers expect will continue enrolling new patients until the end of 2015. Because the trial still is labeled as investigational research, there is no cost to those enrolling. Centers conducting the trial today are: Moffitt Cancer Center University of Chicago Medical Center National Cancer Institute in...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Treatment & Doctors Source Type: news