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DeltaRex-G induces 10-year remission in a Stage IV pancreatic cancer patient: A cure for pancreatic cancer in 2019?

The Aveni Foundation mission is to expedite development of gene-targeted technologies for cancer and other unmet medical needs.

DeltaRex-G: A cure for pancreatic cancer in 2019?

DeltaRex-G for pancreatic cancer was ahead of its time in 2007. We know NOW not to discontinue therapy if the patient is experiencing clinical benefit as remission can be induced after many months.”
— Sant P. Chawla, MD
SANTA MONICA, CA, UNITED STATES, March 11, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Aveni Foundation and the Cancer Center of Southern California, Santa Monica CA proudly announce the promising results of a Phase 1/2 study using DeltaRex-G (Former Name: Rexin-G) for Stage IV pancreatic cancer (Molecular Therapy: Oncolytics Vol. 12 March 2019DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omto.2018.12.005). Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the United States with estimated new cases of 55,400 and estimated deaths of 44,300 in 2018. Only 8.5% of all pancreatic cancer cases survive 5-years. For patients with Stage IV pancreatic cancer, the expectation is even more grim and there are no 10-year survivor data (SEER Cancer Statistics Review, National Cancer Institute, 2018).
Targeted gene delivery has long been held as the “Holy Grail” of gene therapy (Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, Volume 31, No. 17, 2011). DeltaRex-G is a tumor-targeted gene delivery system encoding a designer “killer” gene that evokes apoptosis (programmed cell death) of cancer cells without collateral damage of normal organs. The Molecular Therapy Oncolytics article reports on the safety and antitumor activity of escalating doses of DeltaRex-G in advanced pancreatic cancer and a 6.7% 10-year cancer-free survival rate. Treatment with DeltaRex-G was not associated with serious treatment-related side effects. Six of 20 patients studied reported fatigue, 2 patients had chilliness and one patient had a headache. There was no reported hair loss, nausea or vomiting, no diarrhea nor liver, heart, brain, or kidney dysfunction. One patient achieved a complete remission, two patients had durable partial responses and 12 patients had tumor growth stabilization. At higher doses, the median duration of survival was 9.2 months and 33.3% one-year survival. To date, one patient is still alive with no evidence of cancer ten years after the start of DeltaRex-G treatment. Taken together, these data suggest that DeltaRex-G, the first and, so far only, targeted gene delivery system for cancer gene therapy/cancer therapy, is uniquely safe, and exhibits significant antitumor activity, for which the USFDA granted fast track designation. The article is authored by Drs. Sant P. Chawla, Cancer Center of Southern California, Howard Bruckner, Bruckner Oncology New York, Michael A. Morse, Duke University Medical Center, Nupur Assudani, Cancer Center of Southern California, Frederick L. Hall, Delta Next-Gene, LLC and Erlinda Maria Gordon, Cancer Center of Southern California and Aveni Foundation, Santa Monica CA.
According to Dr. Sant P. Chawla, Principal Investigator of the Phase 1/2 study, the DeltaRex-G tumor-targeted gene therapy for pancreatic cancer was ahead of its time when it was first introduced in 2007. We know now not to discontinue therapy if the patient is experiencing clinical benefit, as remission can be induced after many months of DeltaRex-G treatment. One patient had a pseudoprogression before going into a complete remission after 9 months of therapy.
DeltaRex-G has been successfully tested in the U.S. and worldwide, that resulted in sustained remissions without further cancer therapy (10 years) of certain patients with hard-to-treat Stage IV cancers. These cancers include Stage IV pancreatic cancer, osteosarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, carcinoma of breast and B-cell lymphoma. Dr. Gordon and co-workers are currently developing a novel biomarker, CCNG1, to identify patients who will benefit most from DeltaRex-G gene therapy (J Clin Oncol 36, 2018, suppl; abstr e24315).

Written by Don A. Brigham, PhD

For further information, please go to our websites: www.avenifoundation.org, www.sarcomaoncology.com or contact Dr. Gordon at egordon@avenifoundation.org or egordon@sarcomaoncology.com.

Erlinda M Gordon
Aveni Foundation
+1 818-726-3278
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