Cancer News Article
Note:I did not see this trial posted on this
board so I thought I would post it.
Phase II Trial of Panitumumab Plus FOLFIRI for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Researchers from Northwestern Universityhave reported that the combination of the panitumumab (ABX-EGF) and 5-fluorourcil, Camptosar® (irinotecan), and leucovorin (FOLFIRI) shows promising results for the initial treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. The results of this phase II study were presented at the 23rd annual Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium, November 2-5, 2005.
FOLFIRI is a commonly used chemotherapy regimen for patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Panitumumab is a monoclonal antibody, like Erbitux®, which targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway. Previous studies have suggested that panitumumab has similar activity as Erbitux for the treatment of colorectal cancer but, with perhaps a somewhat lower incidence of allergic reactions. As a single agent panitumumab has a 10% response rate and a disease stabilization rate of 35% with allergic reactions occurring in less than 1% of patients with colorectal cancer.
In this phase II study, 24 patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer were treated with panitumumab and FOLFIRI. The follow-up time of this study was a median of 10.7 months. The following observations were made:
33% of patients experienced a partial or complete response.
46% of patients achieved stable disease.
13% of patients had cancer that progressed during treatment.
All patients experienced toxic effects of treatment that involved the skin, hair, nails, or eyes. However, there were few serious toxic effects.
These researchers concluded that the combination of panitumumab and FOLFIRI may have a role in the initial treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. They recommend additional studies to directly compare chemotherapy with or without panitumumab, to evaluate other chemotherapy regimens in combination with panitumumab, and to assess different doses of panitumumab.
Comments: These data suggest that panitumumab has significant activity in colorectal cancer. Future trials will determine if this drug has any advantage over Erbitux.
Reference: Benson A, et al. Panitumumab, a fully-human IgG2 antibody treatment for colorectal cancer. Proceedings from the 23rd annual Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium. 2005. New York, NY. Abstract #4.
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