October 1, 1999

Anticipated cancer clinical trial begins in Boston

Patient enrollment for a Phase I cancer clinical trial of Endostatin started Sept. 28 at the MGH, BWH and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – members of Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare (DFPCC) – in collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

This study represents the first time that Endostatin, an angiogenesis inhibitor that has garnered a lot of public interest, will be tested in patients. As a Phase I trial, the study is being conducted to test the medication's safety and the dose at which it should be given. It is not designed to measure the effectiveness of Endostatin. The study is expected to enroll approximately 15 to 30 patients across all four sites. The patients will be selected at random from those patients who are clinically eligible.

Because of the widespread interest and the relatively small number of patients who can participate in the study, the MGH is receiving a large number of inquiries from the public and reporters.

MGHers who receive calls from patients about this trial should refer them to the central Endostatin hotline at (617) 632-5100, which will be staffed by oncology nurses from Dana-Farber, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. Additional information about the trial also is available on the MGH website at http://www.cancer.mgh.harvard.edu/ or at the Cancer Resource Room located on Cox 1. For information about other cancer clinical trials across the country, patients can be referred to the National Cancer Institute at (800) 4-CANCER.

To ensure the accuracy of information released to the public, all calls from newspaper, television and radio reporters should be referred to the MGH Public Affairs Office at 6-2206.