June 4, 1999

MGH to test new cancer drug

Cancer patients from the MGH, BWH and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will be among the first to take endostatin, a protein discovered in the lab of Judah Folkman, MD, of Children's Hospital, shown to shrink tumors in animal trials.

This phase one trial, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, will start sometime in the fall. The trial will test only for toxicity, side effects and therapeutic dosage levels in volunteers referred by specialists from the three hospitals. Participants in the trial must have solid tumors, including lymphoma. The Maryland biotechnology company EntreMed, which manufactures the drug under license from Children's Hospital, will produce the protein for the Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare trial.

Folkman's team has shown that endostatin and angiostatin — another inhibitor of the development of new blood vessels required to nourish tumors — can eradicate some tumors in mice. The drugs are among 20 other angiogenesis inhibitors, most of which only delay tumor growth, currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States.