AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., started patient enrollment in a Phase II exploratory biomarker study of tivozanib, a VEGF inhibitor, in patients with renal-cell carcinoma (RCC

Argos Therapeutics, of Durham, N.C., announced that interleukin (IL)-12 secretion can predict the potency of the company's Arcelis dendritic cell (DC) immunotherapy and can be used as a potency marker in a Phase III trial testing its lead product, AGS-003, in metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Oncothyreon Inc., of Seattle, enrolled the first patient in a Phase I/II trial of PX-866, a small-molecule PI3K inhibitor, in combination with Erbitux (cetuximab, Eli Lilly and Co.) The primary objective in the Phase I portion is to determine the maximum tolerated or recommended daily dose to be given with Erbitux in patients with either progressive metastatic colorectal carcinoma or progressive, recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

BioVex Inc., of Woburn, Mass., started a Phase III pivotal study of OncoVEXGM-CSF in first-line, locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

The Phase II portion will consist of two independent arms testing PX-866 plus docetaxel in patients with specific tumor types, with one arm including patients receiving second- or third-line treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer and the second arm including patients with locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Curis Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said that its collaborator Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, of Basel, Switzerland, has initiated a Phase II trial of GDC-0449, an orally administered small-molecule Hedgehog pathway inhibitor, as a single-agent therapy for patients with operable basal cell carcinoma (BCC

Argos Therapeutics Inc., of Durham, N.C., reported interim Phase II data showing that AGS-003 plus Sutent (sunitinib, Pfizer Inc.) resulted in median progression-free survival of 14.9 months for intermediate risk and six months for poor risk renal cell carcinoma patients

AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., has achieved its enrollment target of 500 patients for its Phase III trial of tivozanib for advanced renal cell carcinoma

Zetiq Technologies Ltd., of Ramat Gan, Israel, said results of a 68-subject trial testing its CellDetect technology to diagnose cervical cancer in conventional cytological smears demonstrated an average sensitivity of 94 percent in identifying early dysplasia, 97 percent sensitivity in identifying moderate to severe dysplasia and 100 percent in diagnosing squamous cell carcinoma

Of those, three have had stable disease for six months or longer, including a renal-cell carcinoma patient previously resistant to mTOR inhibitor Torisel (temsirolimus, Pfizer Inc.) Data were presented at Cambridge Healthtech Institute's Next-Gen Kinase Inhibitors Oncology & Beyond conference in Cambridge, Mass

Oncolytics Biotech Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, said the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center has started patient enrollment in a Phase II trial using intravenous administration of Reolysin in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lungs

Argos Therapeutics, of Durham, N.C., announced positive data from a Phase II trial that evaluated the safety, clinical response and immune response of AGS-003 in newly diagnosed patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Seattle Genetics Inc., of Bothell, Wash., initiated a Phase I trial of SGN-75 for metastatic renal cell carcinoma and relapsed and refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma

DUSA Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Wilmington, Mass., reported results of an independent investigator study demonstrating that Levulan photodynamic therapy may reduce the rate of recurrence of squamous cell carcinomas in solid organ transplant recipients

AEterna Zentaris Inc., of Quebec City, reported data published in the Journal of Urology supporting the development of perifosine, a PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitor, including data from Phase I and Phase II studies of perifosine in multiple cancer types, such as renal cell carcinoma

The trial enrolled 40 patients with locally advanced adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus or gastroesophageal junction with no evidence of distant metastasis

AEterna Zentaris Inc., of Quebec City, and Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of New York, reported updated results from a Phase II study of perifosine, a PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitor, as a single agent in advanced metastatic renal-cell carcinoma, showing that, of 16 evaluable patients, one (6 percent) had a partial response, seven (44 percent) had stable disease and eight (50 percent) had progressive disease...Immutep SA, of Orsay, France, reported Phase I data showing that lead product IMP321 improved

Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said final data from a Phase II trial of IMO-2055, a Toll-like receptor 9 agonist, in renal-cell carcinoma showed progression-free survival in treatment-naïve patients of 4.5 months at 0.16 mg/kg/week and 1.9 months at 0.64 mg/kg/week

Curis Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said Phase I data of hedgehog pathway inhibitor GDC-0449 showed that, of 15 evaluable patients with locally advanced basal-cell carcinoma, two had complete clinical responses, seven had partial responses, four had stable disease and two patients had progressive disease