Hot off the Press.....Cancer trial has its biggest testStaff...

Hot off the Press.....

Cancer trial has its biggest test
Staff writer From: Herald Sun September 15, 2011 12:00am


IN a "clean" room in the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, scientists are working on white blood cells from women with ovarian cancer.

Dendritic cells are then cultured and effectively turbocharged so that they hold the key to recognising ovarian cancer cells when they metastisise - which they almost always do.

Then, after the patient has undergone surgery and chemotherapy, these cells are re-injected into the patient every month, allowing their own immune system to recognise and attack any signs of returning ovarian cancer.

It is an exciting and novel form of treatment - one which offers the possibility of greatly improving the length and quality of life of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

The Australian technology is about to get its final and greatest test when biotechnology company Prima Biomed begins a crucial 800-patient international phase-three trial later this year. The trial should determine once and for all whether the treatment is effective in fighting a disease, which at the moment has only a 20 per cent survival rate for patients after five years.

Chairman Lucy Turnbull said she is excited about the prospects of the treatment known as CVac, which she initially helped fund as a key shareholder in its troubled early days.

"I could see the possibility that the door would be closed on some revolutionary local research and I couldn't sleep at night if that happened," she said.

It turned out to be a good decision, as Prima's share price has since grown quickly, and it will soon join the ASX 300 and has $57 million in the bank to fund the trial.

If the treatment works, as it has for some patients in earlier trials, it could also be used to treat a range of other cancers.

the link

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/cancer-trial-has-its-biggest-test/story-fn7j19iv-1226137256741