Lung Cancer: December 2006 Archives

When given to ease pain and other complaints in patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer, a longer, less intense course of radiotherapy offers better value for the money than short-course intense treatment, concludes a study by Dutch researchers.

A previous study by the Leiden University Medical Center team compared a short course of two treatments of 8 gray (Gy) of radiation each, or a long course of 10 treatments of 3 Gy each. Patients who received the long course had more symptom improvement and improved one-year survival compared to patients who received the short course.

In this new study, the researchers analyzed the costs of the two treatment approaches to determine which one offered the best value for the money. They estimated the costs of treatment and related expenses, such as medical care for people who survived their cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) had said Alimta (pemetrexed disodium) should not be used in England and Wales.

The drug is used to treat mesothelioma, a type of cancer which most often affects the lining of the lungs and is mainly linked to asbestos exposure.

The original ruling was appealed by manufacturers Eli Lilly.

NICE has now announced the case will be reviewed by its appraisal committee.

Cell Therapeutics said late Thursday it has shut down its most important clinical trial because patients who took its cancer drug were dying more quickly than those receiving a standard chemotherapy drug.

The Seattle biotech company, which suspended the trial a month ago, will submit a newly designed study to the Food and Drug Administration by year's end. The company said data from the 200 patients who were treated so far will not be used if it eventually seeks FDA approval for the drug, called Xyotax.

The trial, called Pioneer, had the unusual feature of being limited exclusively to women with lung cance

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genzyme Corporation announced today the commercial availability of a new laboratory test to help identify non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who may not respond to targeted therapies. Genzyme's KRAS Mutation Analysis will help identify NSCLC patients who test positive for specific KRAS mutations. Mutations in the KRAS gene have been associated with resistance to certain drugs currently used in treating this deadly form of cancer, including the tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) Tarceva(R) (erlotinib) and IRESSA(R) (gefitinib).

"Between 15 and 30 percent of tumors from NSCLC patients have mutations in the KRAS gene and clinical studies show that this information plays an important role in making treatment decisions," said Mara Aspinall, president of Genzyme Genetics, the business unit of Genzyme Corp. focused on the research, development and provision of complex testing services. "Genzyme Genetics is currently the only national commercial laboratory in the U.S. to offer this new test. We believe this test will provide physicians and their patients with critical information to help determine how best to move forward with their treatment."