Onconase® Offers Hope to Patients with Mesothelioma

May 18, 2006 - The Alfacell Corporation, manufacturers of a chemotherapy drug called Onconase®, have released findings that substantiate the fact that treatment with the drug, combined with the use of Adriamycin® - another chemo drug, improves the rate of survival for patients with inoperable mesothelioma.

The success of the combination of the two drugs provides hope to those with this dreaded disease which is so often resistant to conventional cancer therapies, including radiation, surgery, and many other forms of chemotherapy. 

Onconase® (ranpirnase) is an agent that is meant to target cancerous cells while sparing healthy cells from side effects. It is absorbed into cancerous cells, where it kills the cell through various processes. The drug is not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This clinical trial, which included 143 patients with inoperable malignant mesothelioma, yielded the following results:

• Median survival was improved by two months with the addition of Onconase (12 months for patients treated with Onconase/doxorubicin compared with only 10 months for those treated with doxorubicin alone).
• At one year 47% of patients treated with Onconase/doxorubicin were alive compared with only 36% of patients treated with doxorubicin only.
• The median duration of disease regression or disease stabilization was improved by seven months in the group of patients treated with Onconase/doxorubicin (17 months) compared to those treated with doxorubicin alone (10 months).

Further trials will be held as Alfacell continues to seek FDA approval for the drug.