World's 1st patient treated at Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center
at Scottsdale Healthcare
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Sept. 15, 2010 - A new investigational drug
designed to penetrate and attack pancreatic cancer cells has been
administered to a patient for the first time at the TGen Clinical
Research Services (TCRS) at Scottsdale Healthcare.
ASG-5ME is a potent, targeted compound designed to selectively kill
cancer cells, said Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, a principal investigator in
the Phase I clinical trial and Physician-In-Chief at the
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).
More than 36,000 Americans are expected to die in 2010 from
pancreatic cancer, making it the fourth leading cause of cancer
death in the United States. Most patients with advanced pancreatic
cancer die within one year of diagnosis.
"ASG-5ME is intended for pancreatic cancer patients who do not have
a good prognosis with currently available therapies. We are very
pleased to be able to offer this exciting agent in a clinical trial
for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer," said Dr. Von Hoff,
Chief Scientific Officer at Scottsdale Healthcare. "Our goal is to
deliver cell-killing medicine through the best possible
individually targeted therapies, and ASG-5ME fits the bill."
The new investigational compound uses a monoclonal antibody against
a target found in more than 90 percent of pancreatic cancer
patients. The monoclonal antibody delivers a highly potent molecule
called monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) to selectively kill the
pancreatic cancer cells.
"It is a precision approach that is designed to avoid non-targeted
cells, increasing antitumor activity in preclinical models and
potentially reducing the toxic effects of traditional
chemotherapy," Dr. Von Hoff said.
The drug was co-developed by Seattle Genetics Inc. of Bothell,
Wash., and by Agensys Inc., an affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas
Pharma Inc.
In Phase I clinical trials, researchers study a drug's safety and
identify maximum tolerated doses.
TCRS is located at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at
Scottsdale Healthcare, and is the world's first site to offer
patient access to ASG-5ME. Researchers hope to enroll up to 50
patients in clinical trials in multiple centers across the
U.S.
The Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare opened
in 2001 on the campus of Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center
as the first major cancer center in greater Phoenix to offer
comprehensive cancer research, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and
support services in a single location. The Commission on Cancer of
the American College of Surgeons has awarded Accreditation with
Commendation to the Scottsdale Healthcare cancer program.
Research at TCRS, a partnership of TGen and Scottsdale Healthcare,
allows molecular and genomic discoveries to reach the patient
bedside as quickly as possible through clinical trials of therapies
directed at specific targets in a patient's tumor.
For more information, contact cancer care coordinator Joyce
Schaffer, R.N., at 480-323-1339, toll free at 1-877-273-3713 or via
email at [email protected]