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New Drug SU11248
New Cancer Drug Stops Progress of Kidney Cancer In
More Than Twice As Many Cases
May 16, 2005 - Recent studies of a new anticancer
drug show continued response for patients with late-stage kidney cancer.
Robert Motzer, MD, attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center (MSKCC), reported a response rate of 40 percent in
patients with metastatic (advanced) renal cell (kidney) cancer who
received SU11248 in second-line therapy.
According to American Cancer Society estimates,
kidney cancer will be diagnosed in approximately 36,160 people this
year; 22,490 will be men. The disease will be responsible for about
12,660 deaths, almost two-thirds of them men. Standard treatment for
metastatic kidney cancer is interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha. These
agents have a response rate of 15 percent and cause significant side
effects for virtually all treated patients.
Findings from two consecutive, Phase II multicenter
trials of 169 patients were presented Saturday at the annual meeting of
the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
"Continuing with our study of SU11248 treatment for
renal cell cancer, first reported at last year's annual ASCO meeting, we
found a partial response rate for 40 percent of patients, with 6 of the
25 patients having a continuous response for greater than 12 months,"
said Dr. Motzer, principal investigator of the trials.
"In the second trial, both partial and complete
responses have been observed, indicating that SU11248 is a very active
agent in the treatment of a disease for which standard treatment
provides only a 15 percent response rate," he added.
In the first trial, 63 patients with metastatic
renal cell carcinoma, whose cancer had failed to respond to standard
therapy, received SU11248. Twenty-five of them (40 percent) showed a
partial response to the drug; in 21 patients (33 percent), the disease
stabilized.
Of the 25 patients who achieved a partial response,
the median duration of partial response was 10 plus months. Eight of the
patients remain progression-free, including two whose tumors became
operable as a result of the treatment. The median time to progression
was 8.7 months; the median survival was 16 months; six patients remain
on therapy.
In a second trial, 106 patients have been treated
and were assessed for a response. Of the 106 patients, 41 (39 percent)
had tumor shrinkage greater than 30 percent, including one patient whose
cancer is in complete remission.
The drug was generally well-tolerated, with
patients experiencing mild- to-moderate side effects that include
fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, and stomatitis (mouth inflammation).
The orally administered agent SU11248 is a multi
targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which works by simultaneously
blocking two growth factor receptors, a vascular endothelial growth
factor receptor, and a platelet-derived growth factor receptor. By
targeting multiple receptors, SU11248 cuts off the blood supply to the
tumor and destroys cellular reproduction.
Physicians in the SU11248 Study Group from Memorial
Sloan-Kettering, the University of California, San Francisco,
Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Michigan Hospital, the
Fox Chase Cancer Center, the University of Wisconsin, the Cleveland
Clinic Foundation, and Duke University participated in the multicenter
study led by Dr. Motzer. The study was sponsored by Pfizer
Pharmaceuticals.
Source notes:
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is the
world's oldest and largest institution devoted to prevention, patient
care, research, and education in cancer. Our scientists and clinicians
generate innovative approaches to better understand, diagnose, and treat
cancer. Our specialists are leaders in biomedical research and in
translating the latest research to advance the standard of cancer care
worldwide. For more information, go to
www.mskcc.org
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