Early Findings Promising as Study Proceeds

The low-dose portion of an ongoing Phase II trial comparing Antisoma’s AS1411 plus cytarabine with treatment of cytarabine alone for patients with relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia has produced favorable preliminary results.

Initial findings showed that among 11 patients who received 10 mg of AS1411 plus cytarabine, one had a complete response (CR) and one had a CR with incomplete recovery of platelet counts. A third patient had a cytogenetic response but had leukemic blasts remaining, the company said.

Patients are being enrolled in a second, higher-dose stage of the comparative trial using 40 mg of AS1411, which kills cancer cells by binding to the protein nucleolin, found on the surface of cancer cells.