RECRUITMENT IN LUNG CANCER TRIAL (MAGRIT)
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PURSUES RECRUITMENT IN LUNG CANCER TRIAL
Stanford, CA, [JULY 21, 2010] – The STANFORD UNIVERSITY Center announced that it is recruiting patients for a Phase III lung cancer trial aimed at preventing the disease’s recurrence in previously treated patients. Specifically, the trial is evaluating the potential of an immunotherapy called Antigen-Specific Cancer Immunotherapeutic (ASCI) for the treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).
The study entitled MAGRIT (MAGE-A3 as Adjuvant Non-Small Cell LunG Cancer Immunotherapy) is one of the largest Phase III trials ever conducted in NSCLC. Dr. Joseph Shrager, Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford, will join more than 400 centers in 34 countries worldwide in this clinical research effort.
MAGE-A3 ASCI is an investigational compound and it is not approved for use in any indication in any country at this time.
As per Dr. Shrager: “If the results of the MAGRIT trial are positive, it would represent an additional treatment option for this patient population.”
With a target enrolment of 2,270 patients, the randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled MAGRIT trial will enroll patients that have a biomarker MAGE-A3 in their tumor, who have had the tumor removed, and are stage IB, II or IIIA NSCLC. The investigational drug is administrated in patients after surgery and standard chemotherapy, and also in patients who only receive surgery as a standard of care. The primary endpoint of the trial is disease-free survival. As Dr. Shrager says, “The end point of this study is to evaluate whether patients who are positive for the MAGE-A3 biomarker have a clinical benefit after receiving the investigational product”.
ASCI is an investigational class of cancer immunotherapy agent aimed at educating the patient’s own immune system to identify cancer cells in a specific manner. This investigational cancer immunotherapy is developed using tumor-specific antigens.
To reach our enrolment target of 2,270 patients, we’ll need to screen more than 13,000 patients worldwide. The STANFORD UNIVERSITY is an active player in this trial and we are seeking appropriate patients to take part.
“If the study proves ASCI to be effective, then it could change the course of therapy for NSCLC patients who have the MAGE-A3 biomarker in Stages IB-IIIA” says Dr. Shrager.
For more information, please contact:
Jing Li
Stanford University
800 Welch Road, 2nd Floor/Cherelyn
Stanford, CA 94305-5796
Phone: 650-721-5959
e-mail: jligc@stanford.edu
