New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology PA -- Press Releases

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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:	April 30, 2005
Contact:	Terry Steiner 603-641-9388, ext. 1227 t.steiner@nhoh.com

Hopeful Clinical Research Included New Hampshire Cancer Patients

Hooksett, NH – Recently, the National Cancer Institute announced preliminary findings from a clinical trial in women with advanced breast cancer. The trial included New Hampshire cancer patients through physicians at New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology.

In the trial, women treated with chemotherapy and the drug bevacizumab (Avastin) had a four-month delay in the growth of the cancer on average, compared to those treated with chemotherapy alone.

Last month, Genentech, the manufacturer of Avastin, announced that preliminary results of a similar study in patients with advanced lung cancer showed that the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to chemotherapy prolonged the lives of patients receiving the new drug. Last year Avastin was found to prolong life in patients with advanced colorectal cancer when added to chemotherapy. Again, patients at New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology participated in the trial.

Avastin is approved only for the treatment of colorectal cancer at this time.

Presently, the physicians at NHOH offer research trials with Avastin in patients with prostate cancer, kidney cancer, pancreas cancer, small cell lung cancer, and early stage colon cancer. “Researchers hope that the added cancer control provided by using Avastin in patients with late-stage cancer will translate into more cures when the drug is applied to the care of patients with earlier stage disease,” said Doug Weckstein, MD, a physician at New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology who leads the practice’s research efforts.

Bevacizumab (Avastin) is a protein called a monoclonal antibody that destroys the blood supply to tumors. The drug attaches to a protein produced by tumors called VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). VEGF helps grow blood vessels to the tumor, thereby supplying the cancer cells with oxygen and nutrients needed to survive. Avastin attaches to VEGF, which prevents the growth and support of the blood vessels.

“NHOH presently offers patients participation in 35 clinical research trials. We administer one of the most active community research programs in the United States,” Weckstein explained.

For more information on research activities at New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology, and the practice’s innovative affiliation with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, visit www.nhoh.com.

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