Apr 28 - Therapy uses immune system to fight brain tumors (Scientific American) - NEW
U.S. researchers are targeting a deadly brain cancer by taking aim at a common virus active in most people with these tumors.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=therapy-uses-immune-syste

Apr 28 - EU approval for Zevalin® as First-Line Consolidation Treatment (Bayer Schering Pharma) - NEW
Zevalin® can now be used in the course of a first-line therapy after remission induction in previously untreated patients with follicular lymphoma.
Press release

Apr 25 - Cancer immunotherapy shows long-term promise in lung cancer (EurekAlert!) - NEW
Patients given the MAGE-A3 injections had longer on average before their cancer recurred, were less likely to have any recurrence, and were less likely to die.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/esfm-cis041808.php

Apr 24 - Nventa Completes Safety Evaluation On Final Cohort In HSPE7 Phase 1 Cervical Dysplasia Trial (Nventa Biopharmaceuticals Corp.) - NEW
Preliminary evaluation of biological samples collected from the study’s first and second cohorts indicates that administration of HspE7 results in an E7-specific T-cell immune response.
http://www.nventacorp.com/news/pr20080424_NVN_Completes_Safety_Evaluation.htm

Apr 23 - Micromet Enrolls First Patient in a Phase 1 Clinical Trial with MT110, the First BiTE Antibody for Treatment of Solid Tumors (Micromet, Inc.) - NEW
MT110 targets the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM or CD326), which is highly expressed on colon, lung, breast, prostate, ovarian, gastric and pancreas cancers.
http://www.micromet.de/en/news/archiv_this.php?id=215

Apr 22 - immatics launches Phase I/II study of IMA910 cancer vaccine in colorectal cancer (immatics biotechnologies GmbH) - NEW
IMA910 is a peptide-based therapeutic vaccine that consists of more than a dozen synthetic tumor-associated peptides representing different tumor antigens specific for colorectal cancer.
Press release

Apr 21 - Effective cancer immune therapy through order in the blood vessels (EurekAlert!) - NEW
Rgs5, a gene that apparently affects vascular structure, has a strong influence on the success of immune therapies.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/haog-eci042108.php

Apr 21 - Topical imiquimod an option for Kaposi's skin lesions in HIV-negative adults (OncoLink) - NEW
The results of a small, open-label study suggest that small classic or endemic Kaposi's sarcoma skin lesions in immunocompetent adults can improve with the application of imiquimod 5% cream.
OncoLink news report

Apr 18 - Mouse Studies Show Tumors Suppress Cells Responsible for Regulating the Immune System (NCI) - NEW
Tregs taken from the spleens of mice bearing tumors exhibited a less suppressive influence on the rate of proliferation of immune cells than did Tregs from spleens of the same strain of mice without tumors.
http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/TregSabzevari

Apr 18 - S. pyogenes injection prompts regression of murine pancreatic cancer (OncoLink) - NEW
A single application of the live bacteria resulted in complete tumor regression.
OncoLink news report

Apr 17 - Serological Autoantibody Profiling In Bladder Cancer Using Protein Arrays (Medical News Today) - NEW
Researchers identified a panel of 171 autoantibodies in patients with bladder cancer that were differentially expressed from the control group.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104383.php

Apr 16 - CTLA-4 Blockade For Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer: Dose-dependent Induction Of CD8+ T Cell Activation And Clinical Responses (Medical News Today) - NEW
CTLA-4 blockade works by removing the brakes on the immune system.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104195.php

Apr 16 - Interleukin-12 Indicates Survival Prospects for Melanoma Patients (M. D. Anderson Cancer Center) - NEW
Higher blood levels of IL-12 predict poor survival prospects for melanoma patients with advanced disease.
Press release

Apr 16 - Immunomedics Creates Novel Cytokine Immunoconjugates Using Dock-and-Lock (Immunomedics, Inc.) - NEW
As exemplified by the veltuzumab-IFN alpha 2b complex, these novel antibody-based cytokines each retained the biological functions of its parental cytokine in vitro, with pharmacokinetic and targeting properties in mice comparable to the humanized antibodies selected.
Press release (PDF)

Apr 15 - Xencor Presents Pre-Clinical Data for Anti-CD19 Antibody at AACR (Xencor, Inc.) - NEW
The antibody contains a proprietary Xencor XmAb Fc domain that enhances cytotoxic potency and also downregulates B cell activation.
http://www.xencor.com/news-press-releases-15042008-89.html

Apr 15 - Immunotherapy: enlisting the immune system to fight cancer (EurekAlert!) - NEW
Data presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the AACR detail how cellular strategies and new vaccines are changing the cancer treatment landscape.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/aafc-iet040808.php

Apr 15 - Medarex Reports Interim Data from Ongoing Ipilimumab Combination Phase 1 Studies in Prostate Cancer at American Association for Cancer Research Meeting (Medarex, Inc.) - NEW
The data suggest an ipilimumab dose-related association with increased T-cell activation, as well as associated anti-tumor activity from the initial 12 patients.
http://www.medarex.com/cgi-local/item.pl/20080415-1129736

Apr 15 - Data Presented at AACR Annual Meeting Shows Bavituximab Equivalent Plus Docetaxel Reduces Tumor Growth By Up to 95% and Halts Metastasis in a Model of Hormone-Refractory Prostate Cancer (Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) - NEW
Bavituximab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to a phospholipid called phosphatidylserine that is usually located inside normal cells, but which becomes exposed on the outside of the cells that line the blood vessels of tumors.
http://ir.peregrineinc.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=304593

Apr 15 - Preclinical Study Presented at AACR Annual Meeting Shows Peregrine's Anti-PS Immunocytokines Can Generate Protective Immune Responses in a Highly Aggressive Breast Cancer Model (Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) - NEW
80% of subjects immunized with anti-PS immunocytokines and irradiated tumor cells achieved long-term survival compared to just 20% of controls.
http://ir.peregrineinc.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=304629

Apr 14 - Turning To The Immune System To Fight Malignant Glioma: UPCI Researchers Present Novel Findings At AACR Annual Meeting (Medical News Today)
The use of novel dendritic cells for glioma treatment and the involvement of the RNase III endonuclease Dicer in cancer and immune regulation will be discussed.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/103737.php

Apr 14 - Micromet Presents Safety and Efficacy Data from Primate Studies With Two New BiTE Antibodies Developed for Treatment of Leukaemia and Melanoma (Micromet, Inc.)
The two new human BiTE(R) antibodies target CD33 and MCSP for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML) and melanoma.
http://www.micromet.de/en/news/archiv_this.php?id=212

Apr 14 - Breast cancer vaccine promising in HER2/neu "low-expressers" (OncoLink)
A vaccine based on an immunogenic peptide from the HER2/neu protein (E75) significantly reduces the risk of recurrence and death in women treated for HER2/neu-positive breast cancer.
OncoLink news report

Apr 13 - Maintenance Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Immunotherapy For TaG3 Or T1G3 And/or Carcinoma In Situ Transitional Cell Carcinoma Of The Bladder (Medical News Today)
Compared to standard induction therapy, maintenance BCG immunotherapy with the present regime was not beneficial in patients with carcinoma in situ and/or TaG3 or T1G3 bladder cancer at a mean follow-up of 33.5 months.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/103795.php

Apr 11 - Cell Genesys Announces Encouraging Results from Phase 1/2 Trial of GVAX Immunotherapy for Prostate Cancer in Recurrent Disease (Cell Genesys, Inc.)
Data from the trial, which enrolled 19 patients, indicate that GVAX immunotherapy for prostate cancer results in a statistically significant increase in median PSA (prostate-specific antigen) doubling time as well as the formation of prostate cancer-associated antibodies in 79 percent of patients who received GVAX immunotherapy.
Press release

Apr 9 - AVAX Technologies, Inc. Announces Initiation of Clinical Study with Autologous Ovarian Cancer Vaccine (OVax(R)) (BioSpace)
Three doses of OVax will be tested, and each of the three doses will be analyzed for immunological efficacy with the goal of optimizing the dose for treatment of patients in future trials.
http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?NewsEntityId=92031

Apr 9 - Phase II Study of IMC-A12 for Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Commences Patient Enrollment (ImClone Systems Inc.)
IMC-A12 is a monoclonal antibody targeting the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R).
Press release

Apr 9 - CuraGen Advances CR011-vcMMAE into Phase II (CuraGen Corp.)
CR011-vcMMAE comprises a fully-human monoclonal antibody against glycoprotein NMB (GPNMB) attached to a potent, synthetic drug monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE).
http://ir.curagen.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=303868

Apr 9 - Genitope Corporation's MyVax(R) Personalized Immunotherapy Pivotal Phase 3 Trial Results Available on Company Website (Genitope Corp.)
Analysis of a pre-specified endpoint in the group of patients receiving MyVax showed a highly statistically significant difference in progression-free survival (PFS) between patients who mounted a positive immune response to the tumor-specific target and those who did not.
Press release

Apr 8 - Seattle Genetics Announces Initiation of Phase Ib Clinical Trial of SGN-40 in Combination with Rituxan and Gemzar for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Seattle Genetics, Inc.)
SGN-40 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the CD40 antigen, which is expressed on most B-cell lineage hematologic malignancies, as well as solid tumors such as bladder, renal and ovarian cancer.
Press release

Apr 8 - Oncophage® Approved in Russia for the Treatment of Intermediate-Risk Kidney Cancer (Antigenics Inc.)
Derived from each individual’s tumor, Oncophage contains the ‘antigenic fingerprint’ of the patient’s particular cancer and is designed to reprogram the body's immune system to target only cancer cells bearing this fingerprint.
http://www.antigenics.com/news/2008/0408.phtml

Apr 7 - Blood pressure enzyme can have tumor-sensing role (EurekAlert!)
By increasing production of a blood pressure-regulating enzyme in mice, researchers have found they can enhance the mouse immune system's ability to sense tumor growth.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/eu-bpe040708.php

Apr 4 - Genvax technology induces immune cell response against prostate cancer antigen (Medical Marketing International Group plc)
A cellular response (CD8+) against the PSMA tumour antigen is detected in 6 out of the 10 patients analysed to date.
http://www.mmigroup.co.uk/mmi/companynewsstory.jsp?n=3&s=6&ref=121

Apr 2 - Topical imiquimod effective treatment of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (OncoLink)
Imiquimod is an immune-response modifier.
OncoLink news report

Apr 1 - Pfizer Announces Discontinuation of Phase III Clinical Trial for Patients with Advanced Melanoma (Pfizer Inc.)
Tremelimumab, a fully human anti-CTLA4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4) IgG2 monoclonal antibody, was being developed by Pfizer for its potential therapeutic application in melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colorectal cancer.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/pfizer/20080401006838/en

Apr 1 - USC researchers find new clues to risk of Hodgkin lymphoma (EurekAlert!)
A long-term study of twins has led researchers to find potential links between Hodgkin lymphoma and levels of an immune response protein (IL-12).
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/uosc-urf040108.php