June 5th, 2011
By Ransdell Pierson and Bill Berkot
Continued use of Eli Lilly and Co’s lung cancer drug Alimta delayed worsening of the disease among patients who had taken an initial treatment regimen with the blockbuster medicine, according to a late-stage study.
Alimta currently has annual sales of more than $2 billion, making it Lilly’s third-biggest product, and the trial’s further validation of its use as a maintenance treatment could drive sales higher.
Alimta is already approved in combination with the chemotherapy agent cisplatin as a first-line, or initial treatment option. It is also approved as maintenance therapy, to delay disease return or progression, among patients who have initially been treated with chemotherapy.
With data from this new Paramount trial in hand, Lilly said it will ask U.S. regulators to approve Alimta as maintenance therapy for patients who received the drug as part of their initial therapy.
June 5th, 2011
by Debra Hughes
CHICAGO–The European Tarceva (erlotinib) versus Chemotherapy (EURTAC) study, the first prospective analysis of an EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitor vs. chemotherapy (CT) for the first-line treatment of patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), met its primary endpoint of improved progression-free survival (PFS), demonstrating a 63% reduction in risk of progression or death, investigators reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2011 Annual Meeting. Additionally, erlotinib had acceptable toxicity compared with platinum-based chemotherapy.
EGFR tyrosine kinase activating mutations are present in 10–26% of NSCLC tumors and are associated with increased response to gefitinib and erlotinib. However, little is known about how the efficacy and safety profile of erlotinib compares with CT in Caucasian patients with EGFR mutations.
June 3rd, 2011
By Carolyn Y. Johnson
After Bill Schuette was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer four years ago, he tried seven kinds of chemotherapy. But in early 2009, his doctor told him he would not make it to Christmas.
“Bill,’’ Schuette recalled the doctor saying with tears in his eyes, “we don’t have anything else.’’
But this summer, Schuette, 62, is planning a 180-mile bike trip — a high point in an unexpected recovery brought about by an experimental drug he happened to hear about on TV news.
That medication, crizotinib, has become one of the most talked-about treatments in the cancer world because of its promising results, including data being presented this weekend in Chicago at the nation’s largest meeting of cancer specialists. As impressive is how rapidly the drug was developed by Pfizer, and cancer specialists say it shows the merits of a new approach to designing and testing cancer drugs.
June 1st, 2011
Denver, Colorado (June 1, 2011) – Five advocacy organizations from India, Australia and the United States have been granted travel awards by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) to send representatives to the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer, July 3-7 in Amsterdam.
The winners are:
The Australian Lung Foundation (Australia): The Australian Lung Foundation is the premier organization for lung health in Australia, providing medical and support group representation nationwide.http://www.lungfoundation.com.au/
Jill’s Legacy (USA): Jill’s Legacy is an advisory board to the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, made up of young professionals who have been personally touched by lung cancer. http://www.lungcancerfoundation.org/
Health Alert Organization of India (India): HAOI deals directly with patients’ issues including supportive care, treatment economics, social obstacles and cultural barriers in lung cancer care.Lung Cancer Foundation of America (USA): LCFA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the necessary and critical funding for creative and leading-edge lung cancer research programs. http://www.lcfamerica.org/
Uniting Against Lung Cancer (USA): Uniting Against Lung Cancer funds innovative lung cancer research to find a cure for the nation’s leading cancer killer. It also works to increase awareness of the disease, including in people who have never smoked. http://www.unitingagainstlungcancer.org/
The awards, which cover one representative from each organization, include free registration, five nights’ accommodation and a fixed amount to cover travel expenses to the World Conference on Lung Cancer, the world’s largest meeting dedicated to lung cancer and thoracic malignancies. Recipients also will enjoy free IASLC affiliate membership for one year.
