Oncolytics Biotech announces results for intravenous Reolysin in patients with sarcomas metastatic to the lung

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. has announced that interim results of a Phase II study of intravenous Reolysin in patients with sarcomas metastatic to the lung were presented yesterday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.

The presentation, entitled "A Phase II Study of Intravenous Reolysin (Wild-type Reovirus) in the Treatment of Patients with Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas Metastatic to the Lung" was delivered by Dr. Monica Mita, the study principal investigator and her team at the Institute of Drug Development (IDD), the Cancer Therapy and Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center, (UTHSC), San Antonio, Texas.

The interim results demonstrate that the treatment has been well tolerated to date, with 8 of 16 evaluable patients experiencing stable disease for periods ranging from two to more than ten, 28-day cycles. As previously announced by Oncolytics, the third patient treated in the study was demonstrated to have stable disease by RECIST criteria for more than six months as measured by CT scan. A PET scan taken at the same time showed that any residual mass was metabolically inert.

"These very encouraging data have increased our commitment to the thorough investigation of this exciting, unique, truly targeted agent," said Dr Francis Giles, Director of the IDD at UTHSC.

"We feel privileged to participate in this study and to be able to offer this therapeutic option to our patients," said Dr. Mita. "Patients have tolerated the treatment well and seem to have disease control up to several months, which is encouraging for patients with advanced refractory sarcoma."