News from the American Society of Clinical Oncologists annualmeeting in Los Angeles:

* An oncologist in the Netherlands reported that GVAX, agenetically engineered cancer vaccine from Somatix Therapy Corp.,of Alameda, Calif., was well tolerated in the first 10 patients of a 28-patient Phase I trial.

The investigator reported that the vaccine stimulated an immuneresponse, as measured by a delayed-type hypersensitivity test to thepatient's own tumor cells, in the 10 patients with malignantmelanoma who received their full course of vaccinations. Three ofthe 10 patients with incurable disease have had their diseasestabilized for eight months or more.

* Data was reported showing that Avicidin cancer therapy, a productof Seattle-based NeoRx Corp., produced objective tumor regressionsin early Phase I trials. There were no dose-limiting toxicities in thesingle dose studies.

Patients in the study have advanced metastatic colon, lung andovarian cancers that were resistant to standard chemotherapy.

* ImClone Systems Inc., of New York, said data presented on itsepidermal growth factor receptor antagonist showed no adversereactions and resulted in minimal tumor response in two patients.

The EGFr product, the company's lead cancer therapeutic, is in asingle-injection, dose-escalation Phase I study.

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