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Emerging Treatments for Lung Cancer
Since 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have had the ability to grant "fast track status" to drugs that may:
¢ treat staid or life-threatening diseases,
¢ address an unmet medical need, and/or
¢ Have the potential to advance the treatment for a serious illness.
These so called "prompt track drugs" are currently only available to patients listed in medical trials.
Alimta
¢ Variety/trade christian name: Alimta
¢ Generic drug name: pemetrexed
¢ Manufactured by: Eli Lilly and Co.
¢ FDA Approved: August 2004
In August 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Alimta for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have beforehand received chemotherapy.
In clinical trials, Alimta was shown to shrink tumours as effectively as docetaxel/Taxotere, which is the standard current therapy for recurrent non-small small room lung cancer (NSCLC) Alimta did so with fewer side effects.
According to results from the clinical trials, patients treated with Alimta were less likely to suffer from fever and infections caused by low levels of white blood cells. These Alimta patients also suffered less hair thrashing and less numbness in their arms and legs.
In addition, they were also less likely to be hospitalized with fever or other side effects. The average survival for patients treated with Alimta was 8.3 months, compared with 7.9 months for patients treated with docetaxel.
Iressa
¢ Brand/trade name: Iressa
¢ Nonspecific drug name: gefitinib
¢ Manufactured by: AstraZeneca
¢ FDA Approved: May 2003
In May 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Iressa for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) which has unremitting to progress despite chemotherapy treatment. In clinical trial with 261 patients with NSCLC, 10% of Iressa patients had positive comeback rate (defined as at least 50 percent tumour shrinkage lasting at least one month). Clearly, further trials are required.
Targeted therapies are a new class of cancer treatments, which now include Iressa, Tarceva, and Erbitux. These treatments are designed to block a particular protein, the epidermal increase factor receptor that aids the growth and development of cancer cells. These innovative drugs tend to have fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy.
In the clinical trial, the most common side effects for Iressa patients were nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, acne, and dry skin. In addition, some patients taking Iressa developed interstitial lung disease (ILD), a serious and life-threatening lung disease. Some evidence suggests that Iressa may cause foetal harm when administered to pregnant women. Further explore is required.
Tarceva
¢ Brand/acquire and sell name: Tarceva
¢ Generic drug name: erlotinib
¢ Manufactured by: OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech Inc.
¢ FDA Approved: November 2004
In November 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tarceva for the management of patients presenting with locally advanced or metastatic dis--small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after crash of at least one previous chemotherapy regimen.
In a clinical check with 731 patients, the drug was shown to widen life by approximately two months, from an average of 4.7 months among those who took a placebo to 6.7 months.
Targeted therapies are a new class of cancer treatments, which now include Iressa, Tarceva, and Erbitux. These treatments are designed to block a particular protein, the epidermal growth factor receptor, which aids the growth and development of cancer cells. These new drugs have a propensity to have fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy.
In the clinical trial, the most common side effects for Tarceva patients were rash and diarrhoea. In addition, some patients taking Iressa developed interstitial lung disease (ILD), a serious and life-threatening lung disease.
In addition to the above drugs, the following drugs have been approved a "fast path" designation by the FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, but have not yet been standard:
¢ BLP25 liposome vaccine (L-BLP25)
¢ Telcyta (TLK286)
¢ TTS CD3
¢ Xyotax (CT-2103)
¢ Xcytrin (motexafin gadolinium)
Clearly further research is required. However, some small and large breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer are continually being researched, trialled, and developed.
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