Delcath Systems, Inc. reported top-line results from the metastatic colorectal (adenocarcinoma) cohort of the phase II clinical trial of the Delcath chemosaturation system with melphalan in the treatment of patients with unresectable liver cancer. The company also confirmed plans to initiate a new phase II single-arm study in the second half of 2012. The new study is intended to evaluate the efficacy of Delcath's chemosaturation system and its next-generation high efficiency filter in patients with colorectal cancer that is metastatic to the liver and is refractory to first line systemic chemotherapy.

The recently completed phase II study, conducted at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US, included four patient cohorts: hepatobiliary cancers, and metastatic cancers of neuroendocrine, ocular or cutaneous melanoma, and colorectal (adenocarcinoma) origins. Sixteen patients with very late stage colorectal cancer liver metastases were recruited into this arm. The predominant accrual of very late stage patients reflects the changing referral and treatment patterns at the NCI at the time that this study was conducted, but it was not a design feature of the study. No significant responses were noted among these patients as they had been heavily pre-treated with numerous chemotherapeutic and regional modalities that, along with anatomical and disease-related factors in a few, prevented sufficient melphalan exposure. The safety profile of the chemosaturation system was consistent with that previously reported for the company's phase III melanoma trial.

“While the efficacy signal from this study was inconclusive due to the factors mentioned above, we believe there is solid clinical and scientific justification to conduct a new phase II trial in a well-defined metastatic colorectal (mCRC) patient population who are likely to benefit from chemosaturation with percutaneous hepatic perfusion. Surgical isolated hepatic perfusion with melphalan has previously shown encouraging responses in a well-defined patient population with earlier stage CRC liver metastases. Additionally, our recent in vitro experiments evaluating colorectal tumour cell lines that were exposed to melphalan at concentrations achieved during chemosaturation, showed encouraging signals of cell-death induction. As such, we will continue to study the efficacy of our chemosaturation system in this patient population that currently has few treatment options,” said Eamonn P Hobbs, president and CEO of Delcath System, Inc.

Delcath has previously reported encouraging top-line results from the metastatic neuroendocrine and hepatobiliary cohorts of this phase II trial. Detailed results from the metastatic neuroendocrine arm of this trial will be presented at the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe and European Society for Medical Oncology scientific meetings in September.

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men and women in the United States, with more than 150,000 new patients diagnosed each year. Approximately 750,000 new cases are diagnosed annually worldwide. It is more common in people over 50, and the risk increases with age. Survival is directly related to stage at detection and the type of cancer involved, but overall is poor for symptomatic cancers, as they are typically quite advanced. Survival rates for early stage detection are approximately five times those of late stage cancers. Stage IV colorectal cancer consists of liver metastases that have spread there from the colon or rectum. In general, approximately 8-15% of people with Stage IV colon cancer are still alive five years after their diagnosis.

Delcath Systems, Inc. is a development stage specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company focused on oncology.