Lung Cancer

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted, for filing and priority review, the New Drug Application (NDA) for Bristol-Myers Squibb's investigational compound ixabepilone, an epothilone B analog.

Cell Therapeutics, Inc (CTI) announced that data presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago on June 1-5, provides independent supportive data validating the potential survival benefit of paclitaxel poliglumex (Xyotax) over standard chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in women whose estrogen levels are in the normal range for premenopausal women.

Although any steps taken to prevent cancer require many years before they influence outcomes, clinical investigators typically do not consider the time lag needed for prevention to elicit a measurable effect on life and health, opting instead to assess mortality in the short term

Brain metastasis can be prevented in advanced small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients by prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) in those who respond to chemotherapy

While pharmaceutical companies are actively engaged in the development of new drug treatments for cancer, the number of drugs eventually approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for oncology has declined.

A triplet that includes the investigational agent canfosfamide (Telcyta, Telik, Inc.) showed strong activity as first-line treatment in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

The third-generation epothilone KOS-1803 may optimize tumor penetration while limiting exposure to other tissues

It may someday be possible to identify patients at high risk of developing lung cancer by examining their exhaled breath

Approximately one-third of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) present with locally advanced disease, the majority of whom are treated with concurrent chemotherapy and thoracic radiation therapy. Concurrent chemoradiation therapy is superior to sequential chemotherapy followed by thoracic radiation therapy or thoracic radiation therapy alone.

This year's plenary presentations at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, held in Chicago on June 1-5, addressed a variety of issues in five major cancer types.

Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa, Amgen) significantly reduced red blood cell (RBC) transfusions and did not affect overall or progression-free survival, compared with placebo, in a randomized, double-blind, phase III trial in 600 patients with previously untreated extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer receiving platinum-based chemotherapy.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. The predominant histologic type of lung cancer is Non-Small-Cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Approximately 30% of newly diagnosed patients with NSCLC present with stages I-IIIA disease.

University of Alberta researchers, led by Evangelos Michelakis, MD, have shown that dichloroacetate (DCA), added to the drinking water of nude athymic rats implanted with human lung cancer cells (A549), significantly reduced tumor size, compared with controls, and was associated with increased apoptosis and decreased proliferation.

Although CT screening increases the rates of lung cancer diagnosis and treatment among long-time smokers, data from three studies, individually and combined, show no evidence that such scanning reduces deaths from the disease

Long-term, high-level exposure to bacterial endotoxins in raw cotton fiber and cotton dust was associated with a 40% decrease in lung cancer risk among female Chinese textile workers. The risk of developing lung cancer decreased for workers exposed to greater amounts of endotoxins over many years.

AstraZeneca has initiated a new phase III study of its investigational once-daily oral agent vandetanib (Zactima, ZD6474), known as Study 36.

From 85% to 91% of cancer cases identified by annual CT lung screening in high-risk patients were early stage

Erlotinib (Tarceva) showed activity and was "relatively well tolerated" in chemotherapy-naive elderly patients with stage IIIB/IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Roche has announced that the international phase III Avastin in Lung study (AVAiL, BO17704) met its primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival in patients with previously untreated advanced non-squamous-cell, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Merck KGaA has opened enrollment in its global phase III clinical study, known as START, assessing the efficacy and safety of Stimuvax (BLP25 liposome vaccine) as a potential treatment for patients with unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have had a response or stable disease after at least two cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy.

Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman (shown talking to the media at Super Bowl XLI) has joined Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., Emmy-award winning sportscaster Joe Buck, and the Lung Cancer Alliance (lungcanceralliance.org) for the lung cancer awareness campaign "A Face in the Fight."

Almost 40% of patients with newly diagnosed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have disease confined to the ipsilateral hemithorax and within a single radiation port, ie, limited-stage disease. The median survival for this group of patients after treatment is approximately 15 months, with one in every four patients surviving 2 years. Current optimal treatment consists of chemotherapy with platinum/etoposide, given concurrently with thoracic radiation. Surgery may represent an option for very early-stage disease, but its added value is uncertain. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is used for patients with limited-stage SCLC who have achieved a complete response following initial therapy, as it decreases the risk of brain metastases and provides an overall survival benefit. Newer targeted agents are currently being evaluated in this disease and hold the promise of improving current outcomes seen in patients with early-stage disease.

Almost 40% of patients with newly diagnosed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have disease confined to the ipsilateral hemithorax and within a single radiation port, ie, limited-stage disease. The median survival for this group of patients after treatment is approximately 15 months, with one in every four patients surviving 2 years. Current optimal treatment consists of chemotherapy with platinum/etoposide, given concurrently with thoracic radiation. Surgery may represent an option for very early-stage disease, but its added value is uncertain. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is used for patients with limited-stage SCLC who have achieved a complete response following initial therapy, as it decreases the risk of brain metastases and provides an overall survival benefit. Newer targeted agents are currently being evaluated in this disease and hold the promise of improving current outcomes seen in patients with early-stage disease.

Almost 40% of patients with newly diagnosed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have disease confined to the ipsilateral hemithorax and within a single radiation port, ie, limited-stage disease. The median survival for this group of patients after treatment is approximately 15 months, with one in every four patients surviving 2 years. Current optimal treatment consists of chemotherapy with platinum/etoposide, given concurrently with thoracic radiation. Surgery may represent an option for very early-stage disease, but its added value is uncertain. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is used for patients with limited-stage SCLC who have achieved a complete response following initial therapy, as it decreases the risk of brain metastases and provides an overall survival benefit. Newer targeted agents are currently being evaluated in this disease and hold the promise of improving current outcomes seen in patients with early-stage disease.

Two embryonic stem cell vaccines proved 60% to 100% effective in preventing lung cancer in mice, John W. Eaton

Early data from a phase I study of the targeted immunoconjugate BB-10901, also known as huN901-DM1 (ImmunoGen), has provided evidence of the drug's safety and clinical activity in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and other CD56-positive solid tumors.

Patients with late-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with palliative radiation derive greater value from a longer, less intense course of therapy

The monoclonal antibody bevacizumab (Avastin) is likely to have a variety of uses in cancer treatment but also carries with it risks that require careful monitoring by oncology nursing staff

In early studies, the albumin-bound 130-nm formulation of paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel, Abraxane) has shown promise in first-line treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Investigators have begun enrolling a select group of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients—those who have never smoked or once smoked lightly—into a phase II trial to determine whether erlotinib (Tarceva), with or without chemotherapy, is effective as first-line treatment.