PERSONALIZED CANCER VACCINE STUDY AT OUR LADY OF MERCY MEDICAL CENTER MAY HELP CANCER PATIENTS FIGHT DISEASE

A new approach that uses a patient’s own immune system to attack their cancer is being evaluated by Peter H. Wiernik, M.D., director of the Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center’s Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Bronx, New York.

(PRWEB) September 17, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:            

Contact: Fred Yaeger

    (914) 423-7972

Pager: (914) 445-0262

PERSONALIZED CANCER VACCINES MAY HELP

CANCER PATIENTS FIGHT DISEASE

Our Lady of Mercy Cancer Center Enrolling Patients In Lymphoma Vaccine Study

Help may be on the way for cancer patients suffering from non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), the sixth most common cancer, with approximately 300,000 cases in the U.S., and the sixth most common cause of cancer death.

A new approach that uses a patient’s own immune system to attack their cancer is being evaluated by Peter H. Wiernik, M.D., director of the Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center’s Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Bronx, New York. The Cancer Center is a participant in a clinical research trial studying Favid™, a personalized cancer vaccine made individually from each patient’s lymphoma. The vaccine is designed to recruit and train the body’s own immune system to identify, target and destroy lymphoma cells. Personalized vaccines represent a new approach to treating cancer and may help lymphoma patients achieve lasting remission.

Dr. Wiernik is now enrolling patients in this Phase II clinical trial that studies Favid in combination with Rituxan® for patients with low-grade or follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (fNHL). This trial is open to:

1) Patients who have not received any prior treatment for their lymphoma;

2) Patients who have relapsed following a previous response to chemotherapy

and/or Rituxan;

3) Patients who received prior chemotherapy but never responded to their treatment.

“The study we are conducting enables patients with one of the most common types of cancer, low-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, to be treated with a patient-specific cancer vaccine along with an effective and approved regimen of Rituxan without requiring prior chemotherapy,” said Dr. Wiernik. “We are pleased to offer patients access to this investigational and novel treatment for cancer.”

Patients enrolled in the study first receive Rituxan, an approved lymphoma treatment that can be administered at the patient's own oncologist's office. Approximately eight weeks after completing Rituxan, patients start monthly injections of Favid for six months. Favid, following Rituxan, is being tested to see if it can specifically stimulate the body's immune response against remaining lymphoma cells.

For additional information on participation and eligibility in the lymphoma vaccine study, call the Our Lady of Mercy’s Comprehensive Cancer Center at 718/920-1100.

About Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center

The Comprehensive Cancer Center at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center offers a range of opportunities for cancer patients in the region. This “Center of Excellence” combines the latest advances in the treatment and care of cancer patients with research facilities dedicated to advancing the understanding of cancer and improving treatment modalities.

Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center is a University Hospital of New York Medical College and is a member of the Catholic Health Care System.