NEW YORK, June 7 (UPI) -- Antigenics said Wednesday a phase 3 trial of Oncophage showed a 43-percent improvement in kidney cancer recurrence-free survival.
The company said an analysis of the study by an international expert panel revealed that its potential vaccine Oncophage (vitespen) produced a clinically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival in a group of 361 "better-prognosis" patients.
Specifically, those patients treated with Oncophage had a 43-percent decreased risk of their disease recurring, compared with patients in the control group.
Patients comprising the "better-prognosis" subgroup included those with stage I and II kidney cancer or "high-grade" disease, and those with stages III, T1, T2 and T3a kidney cancer, considered "low-grade" forms of the cancer.
"These analyses have identified a clinically relevant adjuvant patient population that appears more responsive to treatment with Oncophage," said lead study investigator Christopher Wood, associate professor of urology at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
"These results certainly warrant further exploration of the use of Oncophage in kidney cancer patients."
Antigenics' phase 3 study involved 728 patients with renal cell carcinoma -- the most common type of kidney cancer -- who were at high risk of recurrence after surgical removal of the diseased kidney.
