HSV antigen

The purpose of this study is to determine how safe and how well-tolerated the experimental study drug, C134 is when re-administered into the brain where the tumor is located.

The purpose of this study is to determine how safe and how well-tolerated the experimental study drug, C134 is when administered twice into the brain where the tumor is located. This is a Phase IB 2 dosing study. All the patients who take part in this study will receive the same type of experimental treatment. There is no "placebo" in this study. The patient will receive the dose of C134 administered, which will be added in the tumor infiltrated tissue in the area of the resection cavity. Anywhere from 4-12 patients are expected to take part in the study; the final number will depend on the safety results.

The purpose of this project is to obtain safety information in small groups of individuals, scheduled to receive escalating doses of C134, a cancer killing virus (HSV-1) that has been genetically engineered to safely replicate and kill glioma tumor cells. Safety will be assessed at each dose level before proceeding to the next dose level. A special statistical technique called the Continual Reassessment Method (CRM) will be used to determine when higher doses of virus can be administered. Other objectives of the study include characterization of the activity of C134 after inoculation into the tumor and of the local and systemic immune responses to C134. Patients will also be followed with MRI scans for potential clinical response to C134. The clinical strategy takes advantage of the virus' ability to infect and kill tumor cells while making new virus within the tumors cells; a critical enhancement of this effect is accomplished by the induction of an anti-tumor immune response; both effects are produced by the IRS-1 gene that was placed into the virus by genetic engineering. An additional important component of the research are systematic assessments of the quality of life on treated patients.