OvaRex shows promise for ovarian cancer

AltaRex's monoclonal antibody-based drug OvaRex has shown promisingresults in a 345-patient clinical trial for ovarian cancer. The trial highlighted the correlation between the circulating levels of the ovarian tumor marker CA125 and OvaRex efficacy. Patients at the higher end of the assumed normal range of CA125 levels are thought to be more at risk of disease relapse, and this is the population in which OvaRex is proving to be the most beneficial, said the firm. In addition, a Phase II trial showed that OvaRex treatment for late-stage ovarian cancer patients with recurrent disease provided comparable efficacy to "salvage" chemotherapies, but without the latter's associated toxicities.