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by Hisham S. Ayoub, DMD
BioHealth Investor



A new study published in the peer reviewed publication Clinical Cancer Research found that human trials of the new class of cancer vaccines, which includes Dendreon's (DNDN) Provenge for prostate cancer, have been aiming for a primary endpoint that is irrelevant.

Typically, the success of cancer treatments in clinical trials is measured by the reduction in the size of tumors. This was apparently the reason why the FDA refused to give Provenge final approval, citing that the average size in prostate tumors did not significantly shrink.

The new study however, points out that most cancer vaccine trials have increased the survival rate of patients, regardless of the change in size of tumors during the study period. Cancer vaccines need more time to work in order to induce changes in the immune system of patients to fight off the cancer.

As expected, shares of Dendreon jumped more than 6% on Tuesday on the study findings, and deservingly so.

Imagine calling a clinical study a failure because the tumor size did not significantly decrease, yet the average survival rate of patients increased!

Is it not the survival of patients the real aim of medical treatment?

Provenge deserves a second hard look by the FDA, and Dendreon stock still has a lot of room to the upside; deservingly so.



RELATED READING:
- Options Expiration Weighing on Dendreon
- Cell Genesys Should Not Trade With Dendreon!
- Dendreon Taps Financing Sooner Than Expected
- Analysts Continue to Dump on Dendreon





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