A unique way of delivering chemotherapy using nanoparticles
appears safe and tolerable, according to early results from a
phase I clinical trial. City of Hope researchers presented the
findings at the 100th Annual Meeting 2009 of the American
Association of Cancer Research in Denver on April 21. |Yun Yen
(Photo by p.cunningham)| Yun Yen, M.D., Ph.D., Dr. & Mrs. Allen
Y. Chao Chair in Developmental Cancer Therapeutics and professor
in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research,
conducted the trial, which tested the safety and tolerability of
a drug called IT-101 in patients. IT-101 is a tiny, engineered
molecule called a nanoparticle that carries the powerful
anticancer drug camptothecin. In the study, 18 patients with
solid tumors that failed to respond to all standard therapies
were divided into two groups: one group received IT-101
infusions for three weeks in a row with one week off; the other
received IT-101 every other week. The researchers found the
doses they used were safe in both regi