Lung cancer drug study underway at cancer center

A study to assess the safety and effectiveness of squalamine, a new drug designed to treat the most common form of lung cancer, is underway at the Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The center, along with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, are the only sites in the nation at which the study will be conducted. Together, the two sites are expected to enroll approximately 35 patients.

Unlike conventional chemotherapy, which destroys cancer cells, squalamine is a so-called anti-angiogenic agent – something that actually prevents the creation of blood vessels that feed cancer cells. Laboratory studies of anti-angiogenic agents — including squalamine and endostatin, another cancer drug to be tested at UWCCC later this year — have encouraged researchers to pursue studying the effects of these naturally occurring substances on humans.

To enroll in the squalamine study, patients must have advanced stages of non-small cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer. Those who participate in the new study will receive intravenous doses of squalamine in combination with their regular doses of chemotherapy treatment every three weeks.

“The UW Comprehensive Cancer Center is very pleased to serve as one of only two sites for this very important study,” says Joan Schiller, professor of clinical oncology at the Medical School, and principal investigator of the Squalamine clinical trial. “In the laboratory, squalamine has reduced the growth of lung, breast, prostate and brain tumors. Now we can begin to determine whether human patients will show similar results.”

About 172,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed this year in the United States, and 159,000 people will die of lung cancer-related causes.

Those who believe they may be eligible for participation in the squalamine study at center may call the Cancer Center’s Cancer Connect Service at 262-5223 in the Madison area.

Squalamine is manufactured by Magainin Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of medicines for serious diseases. Schiller has published preclinical research on squalamine in lung cancer. Schiller’s participation in the study is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Information about other cancer drug studies is available by calling the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).