Micromet: Study shows EpCAM overexpression in epithelial ovarian cancer

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, May 30 - Micromet, Inc. said Tuesday that results of a scientific study demonstrate overexpression of the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) as an independent prognostic marker in epithelial ovarian cancer.

The study was a collaboration of Micromet with universities in Austria and Basel, Switzerland, according to a company news release.

The retrospective study analyzed primary tumor samples from epithelial ovarian cancer patients at various stages and grades of the disease for the level and frequency of EpCAM expression.

Samples of 199 patients were analyzed, 91 of which were at advanced stages of the disease. The frequency of high-level EpCAM expression for all samples was close to 70%, and 83.5% for samples from patients with grade 3 tumors, officials said.

In the entire patient population, EpCAM overexpression was significantly associated with reduced overall survival.

Median overall survival of patients with EpCAM overexpression was only half compared to that of patients whose tumors did not express EpCAM, officials said.

Results of the study were published recently in Gynecological Oncology.

"This study strongly supports an active role of EpCAM in the development and progression of solid tumors," Patrick Baeuerle, chief scientific officer of Micromet, said in the release.

"A negative correlation of EpCAM expression with patient survival has previously been reported for breast, bile duct and gall bladder cancers. Antibody-based cytotoxic therapies against EpCAM may therefore target a particularly aggressive tumor cell population with the potential to positively affect patient survival," Baeuerle added.

Micromet said its pipeline contains two drug candidates targeting EpCAM. One is the human antibody adecatumumab (MT201), which is in phase 2 trials for the treatment of breast and prostate cancer in collaboration with Serono.

The other one is MT110, a representative of the BiTE class, which is in preclinical development.

Micromet is a Carlsbad, Calif., biopharmaceutical company with a focus on development of proprietary antibody-based products for cancer and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

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