Miracle prostate cancer drug not so miraculous?
The Mayo clinic reported over the weekend in its news section that two men with late-stage prostate cancer were successfully treated with a monoclonal antibody treatment (one of the most promising areas of research for cancer drugs) developed by Medarex Inc. Shares increased by 20% on Monday. An article by the AP pointed out at the time that the news must be treated with caution.
Mayo has not included a summary of Phase 2 clinical trials of the drug in its news, as pointed out in Seeking Alpha. The Phase 2 results were presented at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on May 29-June 2, 2009.
In their report, researchers said that of the 45 patients had been treated with the drug (16 with Ipilimumab alone, 15 with the Ipilimumab + other drugs, and 14 with Ipilimumab + other drugs + chemotherapy).
Antibody declines of 50% or greater were seen in 10 out of the 45 patients, or 22%. Only one patient who was solely treated with Ipilimumab demonstrated complete resolution of lesions.
Alas, the drug may not be so successful as the hype suggests. Why did the researchers release the results of just two patients, with no reference to the larger study presented at the conference? Something shady. Others agree.