I know nothing about biotech, but I just took this off the wires. Can anyone tell me if it has any bearing on Biomira in any way. Thanks in advance and please excuse my ignorance.
With Taxotere(R)
/ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 3 P.M. EDT SATURDAY, MAY 15/
/ADVANCE/ ATLANTA, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have undergone prior
platinum-based chemotherapy have an increased rate of survival at one-year when treated with 75 mg/m2 Taxotere(R)
(docetaxel) for Injection Concentrate than with the commonly used lung cancer agents Navelbine(R) (vinorelbine tartrate)
Injection or Ifex(R) (ifosfamide for injection), according to the results of a Phase III trial reported at the annual meeting of the
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
The study, which was carried out at 23 U.S. cancer centers, found that the one-year survival rate in patients treated with 75
mg/m2 of the chemotherapeutic agent docetaxel was 32% compared to 19% in patients treated with either vinorelbine or
ifosfamide.
"Patients with NSCLC who are resistant to platinum-based regimens are an extremely challenging population with few
treatment options," said Frank V. Fossella, Medical Director, Thoracic Medical Oncology at The University of Texas, M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and principal investigator of the multicenter study. "In view of the poor survival
rate often seen with these patients, our trial results provide optimism about the future management of this disease."
The trial included 373 patients with advanced NSCLC who were resistant to platinum-based regimens and had an Eastern
Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1, or 2. All patients had received prior chemotherapy with
platinum, one of the most commonly used drugs to treat lung cancer.
Patients were randomized to treatment with either docetaxel, 75 mg/m2, or 100 mg/m2, every three weeks; or treatment with
either vinorelbine, 30 mg/m2 weekly, or ifosfamide, 2 gm/m2 daily for three days every three weeks.
The three treatment arms were similar with respect to age, sex, general physical condition, performance status, stage of
cancer, type of cancer histology, prior chemotherapy, response to prior platinum-based chemotherapy, and prior treatment
with platinum.
The incidences of febrile neutropenia (low white blood cell counts with fever) were 12% and 7% with docetaxel (at 100
mg/m2, and 75 mg/m2, respectively), compared to 1% with the comparator arm. However, other side effects such as
infection, asthenia (weakness), fluid retention, diarrhea, stomatitis (inflammation of the inside of the mouth) and skin
disorders were similar among all treatment groups.
Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in North
America. Although the incidence of lung cancer in men has leveled off,
the incidence in women continues to rise. Lung cancer now exceeds
breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related death among U.S.
women.
In the U.S. alone, approximately 171,000 individuals are diagnosed with the disease, and about 75 percent of these cases
are NSCLC. At present, patients with metastatic NSCLC have relatively limited treatment options. Only 25 percent of patients
have tumors that are operable; the majority of patients are treated with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy.
Taxotere was developed and is marketed by Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (RPR), a pharmaceutical subsidiary of Rhone Poulenc
S.A. While not approved for the treatment of NSCLC in the United States, Taxotere is indicated for the treatment of patients
with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer after failure of prior chemotherapy.
Rhone Poulenc S.A. (NYSE: RP) is a leading life sciences company, growing through innovations in human, plant and
animal health and through its specialty chemicals subsidiary, Rhodia. With sales in 1998 of FF86.8 billions (US $14.8 billion;
Euros 13.232 billion), the company employs 65,000 people in 160 countries worldwide.
NOTE: The 2 in "mg/m2" is superscript.
SOURCE Rhone-Poulenc Rorer
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