Oncolytics Biotech Inc. announced that enrolment has been completed in a UK translational clinical trial investigating intravenous administration of Reolysin in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer prior to surgical resection of liver metastases (REO 013). The principal investigator is Professor Alan Melcher of St. James's University Hospital and the trial is sponsored by the University of Leeds, UK.
“The early results from this study reported in 2010 concluded that reovirus can be successfully delivered specifically to colorectal liver metastases following intravenous administration as a monotherapy,” said Dr Brad Thompson, president and CEO of Oncolytics. “This is supportive of observations that Reolysin was active against metastatic liver lesions in a number of different combination therapy studies.”
The trial was an open-label, non-randomized, single centre study of Reolysin given intravenously to patients for five consecutive days in advance of their scheduled operations to remove colorectal cancer deposits metastatic to the liver. After surgery, the tumour and surrounding liver tissue were assessed for viral status and anti-tumour effects.
The primary objectives of the trial are to assess the presence, replication and anti-cancer effects of reovirus within liver metastases after intravenous administration of Reolysin by examination of the resected tumour. Secondary objectives include assessing the anti-tumour activity and safety profile of Reolysin, and monitoring the humoral and cellular immune response to Reolysin.
Eligible patients included those with histologically proven colorectal cancer, planned for potentially curative surgical resection of liver metastases. A total of 10 patients were treated in the study. The results are expected to be fully reported in 2011.
Oncolytics is a Calgary-based biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics.