Clinical Development > Solid Tumors

Cancer is a major public health problem worldwide. The majority of cancers arise in major organs and are collectively referred to as solid tumors. Approximately 1, 444,920 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2007. The specific solid tumor subtype and stage of disease will determine initial treatment which may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery or a combination of therapies. Although many patients respond to treatment, many eventually relapse and require subsequent treatment.

Proteolix is currently testing carfilzomib (PR-171), a new proteasome inhibitor in patients with solid tumors in a Phase 1b/2 trial. The phase 1b portion of the trial is a dose escalation study in patients with advanced disease for which standard therapy is no longer effective or does not exist. This clinical study is assessing the safety and toxicity of the maximum tolerated dose of carfilzomib when administered intravenously in multiple tumor types. After determining the maximum tolerated dose, additional patients will be enrolled in Phase 2 and stratified according to disease type: non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer, renal cancer vs. other cancers. Further patients may be enrolled dependent on the degree of antitumor response observed in the first stage of the trial.