Download Clinical Trial PR 11.02.15

MEDIA ALERT – CALLING FOR HEAD AND NECK CANCER PATIENTS TO TAKE PART
IN A NEW STUDY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FRIDAY 13TH FEBRUARY 2015
To set up an interview and for more information please call Media Ambitions on + 44 (0) 208 940
2222 or email [email protected].
“Head and neck cancers are usually treated with surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy or a
combination of these treatments. Improvements in focussing chemotherapy treatment to the
areas affected by the cancer will improve effectiveness and reduce side-effects of treatment.
This study which is being carried out with Cancer Research UK will help to do just this.”
Dr Vinod Joshi. Founder, the Mouth Cancer Foundation
The Mouth Cancer Foundation, one of the UK’s leading mouth cancer charities, is keen to support a
new study looking at a type of light treatment with chemotherapy for head and neck cancer patients as it
may be a lifeline for those whose cancer returns.
This study, which has been approved by the hospital’s independent ethics committee and the national
regulatory authorities, is being carried out by PCI Biotech and supported by Cancer Research UK. It is
looking at how well a combination of laser light treatment and a chemotherapy drug called bleomycin
works to treat people with head and neck cancer.
Researchers are looking at a new cancer treatment called PCA11. With this treatment patients have 2
drugs. The first is called Amphinex, which makes body tissue sensitive to light. The second is bleomycin
chemotherapy. After you have had Amphinex and bleomycin, the doctor directs a laser light either onto
the surface of the cancer, or through fibres that are put directly into the cancer. The light activates the
Amphinex, which in turn helps the bleomycin to get into the cancer cells and kill them.
Patients usually require several treatments of bleomycin. But researchers hope that the study will prove
only one dose is required. The aim of this study is to see if this treatment works and if it will be a safe
choice for people with head and neck cancer that has come back after previous treatment.
For
full
details
of
the
study
and
conditions
of
taking
part
please
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/trials/a-study-looking-type-light-treatment-withchemotherapy-cancer-head-neck
-ENDS-
visit
For general press enquiries, please contact:
Elizabeth Ayto Laverack or Izabela Nair
Media Ambitions - +44 208 940 2222
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.mediaambitions.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Mouth Cancer Foundation – www.mouthcancerfoundation.org
The Mouth Cancer Foundation is a registered charity no. 1109298.
The Mouth Cancer Screening Accreditation Scheme aims to improve outcomes for head and neck
cancers in accordance with The British Dental Association’s occasional paper for the early detection and
prevention of oral cancer and NICE guidelines. It offers a realistic approach for dentists who seek to
adopt best practice in oral cavity examination and opportunistic screening. The scheme embraces recent
Care Quality Commission, Information Governance and Clinical Governance requirements and
necessitates the recommendation by the General Dental Council for continuous professional
development for the management of oral cancer for dentists.
The Mouth Cancer Screening Accreditation Scheme is open to any dental practice whose
clinicians are registered with the GDC. For more please contact the Mouth Cancer Foundation via
[email protected] or call +44 (0) 1924 950 950 for more information.
About Mouth Cancer
 Around 60,000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with mouth cancer over the next decade.
 In the UK, 7,700 people were diagnosed with Mouth Cancer in 2011.
 Tobacco use is still considered the main cause of mouth cancer. According to the World Health
Organisation, up to half of current smokers will die of a tobacco-related illness – including mouth
cancer.
 Drinking to excess can increase the risk of mouth cancer by four times. Those who smoke and
drink are up to 30 times more likely to develop mouth cancer.
 Mouth cancer is twice more common in men than in women, though an increasing number of
women are being diagnosed with the disease.
 Age is another factor, with people over the age of 40 more likely to be diagnosed, though more
young people are now being affected than previously.
 Poor diet is linked to a third of all cancer cases.
 Experts suggest the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), transmitted through oral sex, could overtake
tobacco and alcohol as the main risk factor within the coming decade.
 Cancers can occur in any part of the mouth, tongue, lips, and adjacent areas like the throat,
salivary glands, pharynx, larynx, sinus, and other sites in the head and neck area.
Symptoms include:
 An ulcer or white or red patch anywhere in the mouth that does not heal within 3 weeks.
 A lump or swelling anywhere in the mouth, jaw or neck that persists for more than 3 weeks.
 A difficulty in swallowing, chewing or moving the jaw or tongue.
 A numbness of the tongue or other area of the mouth.
 A feeling that something is caught in the throat.
 A chronic sore throat or hoarseness that persists more than 6 weeks.
 An unexplained loosening of teeth with no dental cause.
More information about Mouth Cancer is available at the Mouth Cancer Foundation web site
www.mouthcancerfoundation.org or by emailing [email protected]
PCI Biotech – www.pcibiotech.com
PCI Biotech is a cancer focused biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Norway and listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange. The company is developing therapeutic products based on its proprietary
photochemical internalisation (PCI) technology. The PCI technology induces triggered endosomal release
and may be used to unlock the true therapeutic potential of a wide array of modalities, such as small
molecules, ADCs and siRNA. Two programs are currently in clinical development in patient populations
with a high unmet medical need; recurrent head & neck cancer (phase II) and bile duct cancer (phase I/II).