GenSpera has announced treatment of the first patient with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in its Phase II clinical trial of G-202.
G-202 is expected to have efficacy in a wide variety of tumor types, as it is activated by the enzyme PSMA, which is found at high levels in prostate cancer and the vasculature of almost all solid tumours.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the Cancer Therapy & Research Center oncologist Dr Devalingam Mahalingam said an advanced HCC patient who has not been helped by standard-of-care therapy with sorafenib was enrolled.
"Often, these patients have limited therapeutic options and survival rates are very modest in this setting," Mahalingam said.
"It is reassuring to know that G-202 provides another therapeutic possibility for our advanced HCC patients in this Phase II clinical study, which follows the safety and therapeutic efficacy we observed in the Phase I clinical study."
G-202 was well-tolerated in the Phase Ib programme in solid tumour patients, and demonstrated prolonged disease stabilisation in several hepatocellular carcinoma patients who had previously progressed on sorafenib therapy.
GenSpera CEO and president Dr Craig Dionne said; "The scientific rationale for testing G-202 in HCC is very high and we are pleased with how readily the clinical community has embraced its development for this patient population."
Photo: An intermediate magnification micrograph of hepatocellular carcinoma. Image: Courtesy of Nephron.
