HOLLYWOOD, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Erin Andrews, host of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, reporter with Fox Sports and cervical cancer survivor, will be a special guest at a forum designed to provide patients and families with an overview of the impact of cervical cancer, available support programs and the need for new, innovative treatments.
“Latest Advances in Cervical Cancer: Living with the Disease,” an event hosted by Gilda’s Club South Florida in collaboration with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System, and sponsored by Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADXS), will be held Thursday, May 18, at 5 p.m. at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Fla. Space is limited and registration is required. Please register at www.advaxis.com/forum2017 on or before Tuesday, May 16.
The event features Ms. Andrews, who will discuss her life experiences and career, including her journey to becoming a cervical cancer survivor. Ms. Andrews was diagnosed and treated early during the 2016 NFL season. Erin will tell her story in a moderated discussion and Q&A. The event program also includes leading oncologists, researchers and patient advocates who will discuss the details of cervical cancer, new advances in care and programs to support patients and families fighting this disease.
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and each year about 13,000 women in the United States are diagnosed. Annually, approximately 4,200 U.S. lives are lost to the disease. More than 90 percent of cervical cancer cases can be attributed to strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is now the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, with recently published research showing that 39.9 percent of U.S. women are infected. Over the past 30 years there has only been one new product approved for the treatment of cervical cancer, and patients and families need additional support and new treatments.
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center offers patients with cervical cancer access to available treatment options including chemo-radiation therapy. The cancer center is also a trial site for Advaxis’ global Phase 3 AIM2CERV trial, which is evaluating axalimogene filolisbac in patients with high-risk, locally advanced cervical cancer. Axalimogene filolisbac, a targeted Listeria monocytogenes (Lm)-based immunotherapy, is the only known cancer immunotherapy agent shown in preclinical studies to alert the body’s immune system to the presence of cancer, diminish that cancer’s natural defense mechanisms and then rally the body’s killer T cells to attack the cancer. Currently, AIM2CERV is the only active industry-sponsored global phase 3 clinical trial in cervical cancer.
Axalimogene filolisbac and other advances in cervical cancer will be discussed during the event on May 18. The speaking program, which will be followed by a reception, also includes:
- Impact of Cervical Cancer; Erin Kobetz, Ph.D., MPH, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Immunotherapies; Marilyn Huang, M.D., Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Filling Unmet Need: Advancements in Therapies; Brian M. Slomovitz, M.D., Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Survivorship & Patient Support; Teresa Neira, LCSW, Ph.D., Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Stacey Balkanski, LCSW, Program Director, Gilda’s Club
- Moderated Session: Life Experience with Cervical Cancer and Q&A with Erin Andrews; moderated by Laurie Stein
About Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is the fourth most
common cancer affecting women worldwide. An estimated 13,000 new cases
will be diagnosed in the United States in 2016, and 4,100 women will
have this disease as their cause of death, according to the National
Cancer Institute. Decades of research have shown that persistent HPV
infection, particularly with high-risk virus types such as HPV-16 and
HPV-18, is the most important factor in the development of cervical
cancer. The prognosis for women with advanced and recurrent cervical
cancer remains poor, with median survival of only six to seven months
following initiation of palliative treatment with chemotherapy.
According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate
for Stage IV disease is at 15 to 16 percent. There is no approved
therapy following failure of first-line treatment, and there has been
limited advancement in developing new therapeutics for advanced cervical
cancer over the last 30 years.
About Gilda’s Club
Gilda’s Club, was named in honor of
comedian Gilda Radner, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer in 1989
at 42 years old. Gilda’s Club South Florida’s mission is to create
welcoming communities of free support for everyone living with cancer –
men, women, teens, and children – along with their families and friends.
Our innovative program is an essential complement to medical care,
providing networking and support groups, workshops, education and social
activities. Gilda’s Club has been providing programs to those living
with cancer and their family and friends in South Florida since 1997.
About Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – the University of Miami
Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is
among the nation’s leading cancer centers and South Florida's only
Cancer Center of Excellence. A 2015 study by Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center, published in The Journal of the American Medical
Association, showed that cancer patients treated at Sylvester have a 10
percent higher chance of survival than those treated at nearly any other
cancer center in the nation. With the combined strength of more than 120
cancer researchers and 130 cancer specialists, Sylvester discovers,
develops and delivers more targeted therapies, providing the next
generation of cancer clinical care – precision cancer medicine – to each
patient. Our comprehensive diagnostics, coupled with teams of scientific
and clinical experts who specialize in just one type of cancer, enable
us to better understand each patient’s individual cancer and develop
treatments that target the cells and genes driving the cancer's growth
and survival, leading to better outcomes. At Sylvester, patients have
access to more treatment options and more cancer clinical trials than
most hospitals in the southeastern United States. To better serve
current and future patients, Sylvester has a network of conveniently
located outpatient treatment facilities in Miami, Kendall, Hollywood,
Plantation, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs, and Coral Gables. For more
information, visit sylvester.org.
About Advaxis, Inc.
Located in Princeton, N.J., Advaxis,
Inc. is a biotechnology company developing multiple cancer
immunotherapies based on its proprietary Lm Technology™. The Lm Technology,
using bioengineered live attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Lm)
bacteria, is the only known cancer immunotherapy agent shown in
preclinical studies to both generate cancer fighting T cells directed
against cancer antigens and neutralize Tregs and myeloid-derived
suppressor cells (MDSCs) that protect the tumor microenvironment from
immunologic attack and contribute to tumor growth. Advaxis' lead Lm Technology
immunotherapy, axalimogene filolisbac, targets HPV-associated cancers
and is in clinical trials for three potential indications: Phase 3 in
invasive cervical cancer, Phase 2 in head and neck cancer, and Phase 2
in anal cancer. The FDA has granted axalimogene filolisbac orphan drug
designation for each of these three clinical settings, as well as Fast
Track designation for adjuvant therapy for HRLACC patients and a SPA for
the Phase 3 AIM2CERV trial in HRLACC patients. Axalimogene filolisbac
has also been classified as an advanced therapy medicinal product for
the treatment of cervical cancer by the EMA’s CAT. Advaxis has two
additional immunotherapy products: ADXS-PSA in prostate cancer and
ADXS-HER2 in HER2 expressing solid tumors, in human clinical
development. In addition, Advaxis and Amgen are developing ADXS-NEO, an
investigational cancer immunotherapy treatment designed to activate a
patient's immune system to respond against the unique mutations, or
neoepitopes, contained in and identified from each individual patient's
tumor, with plans to enter the clinic in 2017.
To learn more about Advaxis, visit www.advaxis.com and connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
Advaxis Forward-Looking Statement
This press release
contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to,
statements regarding Advaxis’ ability to develop the next generation of
cancer immunotherapies, and the safety and efficacy of Advaxis’
proprietary immunotherapy, axalimogene filolisbac. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks including the risk factors
set forth from time to time in Advaxis’ SEC filings including, but not
limited to, its report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October
31, 2016, which is available at http://www.sec.gov.
Any forward-looking statements set forth in this presentation speak only as of the date of this presentation. We do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof other than as required by law.
You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.
