Paul Fisher

REFERENCE: Meet the Professor Session, AACR 2007, Los Angeles
PAUL FISHER, Columbia University, New York
Patients with cancer could soon be treated with adenoviruses capable of infecting both primary and distant tumors, and simultaneously releasing cancer-fighting cytokines, according to Paul Fisher, who presented his group’s findings to the AACR Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. He told delegates about his group’s work in which “conditionally replication competent adenoviruses” have been used to treat animals, and how they release cytokine IL-24, which reaches primary and distant disease simultaneously through the bloodstream. During the conference he discussed his group’s latest data with Peter Goodwin, and speculated about the future potential of this approach in the clinical setting.

Tracy Batchelor

Judith Sebolt
Leopold

REFERENCE: ABSTRACT: 2118 American Association for Cancer Research, April 14-18, 2007, Los Angeles, CA
TRACY BATCHELOR, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
COMMENT: JUDITH SEBOLT LEOPOLD, Pfizer Global Research, Ann Arbor
A new drug has achieved 50% shrinkage of tumors in patients with refractory, recurrent glioblastoma. The agent, known by the code AZD 2171, is being investigated currently in a phase II study conducted for the National Cancer Institute. It has had a significant effect in more than half of the 31 patients under investigation whose disease was progressing after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, and who have run out of other options for further treatment. Karen Regester interviewed Tracy Batchelor about the results he presented at the Annual Meeting of the AACR in Los Angeles. Judith Sebolt Leopold commented on the data presented by Tracy Batchelor.