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Follow-up data from a Phase 2 clinical trial of Cell Genesys, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEGE)’s GVAX® immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer in 60 patients with operable pancreatic cancer who received the immunotherapy after surgical resection of their tumor and adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy, revealed encouraging results.

The updated results showed a median survival of 26.8 months. This compares favorably with published, historical data from multiple single-arm and randomized studies in patients undergoing pancreatic cancer surgery and adjuvant therapy for whom the median survival has been reported to be in the range of 17 to 22 months, including the most recently reported results for gemcitabine chemotherapy.

The study, conducted by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of GVAX® immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer which is a non patient-specific immunotherapy being developed as an "off-the-shelf" pharmaceutical product.

Details of the clinical data were presented by Daniel Laheru, M.D., assistant professor of medical oncology at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, and colleagues, at the recent 2007 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

Read the full report at Cell Genesys, Inc.

[Photo Credit: MedicineNet]