By Michael Oneal | BioSante
Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Lincolnshire today announced that its GVAX
leukemia vaccine had been shown in a human trial to reduce or eliminate
the last remaining cancer cells in some chronic myeloid leukemia
patients taking the drug Gleevec.
 
The study was conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel
Cancer Center in Baltimore, Md., led by Hyam Levitsky, a professor
of oncology, medicine and urology at the Cancer Center. The research
was funded by the National Institutes of Health, a press release said.

BioSante said all 19 patients enrolled in the trial had used Gleevec for at least one year and still had cancer cells present. Each patient was given a series of four vaccines administered in three-week intervals while remaining on a stable dose of Gleevec.