At
the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, researchers
presented new data on a drug that may prove to be the first effective treatment
for hepatocellular carcinoma
(HCC), a form of liver cancer that occurs in some patients with chronic hepatitis
B or C, as well as alcoholics and people
with other forms of chronic liver disease.
Sorafenib
(Nexavar), developed through a collaboration between Onyx Pharmaceuticals and
Bayer, is an oral drug administered 4 times daily. It both blocks the supply of
blood to tumors and interferes with cellular proteins that promote tumor growth.
In
a clinical trial of 602 individuals with HCC, patients who received sorafenib
survived a median of 10.7 months, compared with 7.9 months for control subjects
who received a placebo -- a significant survival gain of 2.8 months, or 44%.
The
main reported side effects in patients taking sorafenib were diarrhea and peripheral
neuropathy pain in the feet and hands.
Early
HCC tumors can sometimes be surgically removed, but many cases are not diagnosed
until later stages. Liver transplantation is limited by the shortage of donor
organs. Existing therapies have not been very effective, and the cancer often
recurs.
"We did not have anything for these patients," principal
investigator Josep Llovet, MD, told the International Herald Tribune. "Now
we have an effective drug that prolongs survival."
Sorafenib
is already approved for the treatment of kidney cancer, and physicians may prescribe
it off-label for liver cancer. Onyx and Bayer plan to apply later this summer
for regulatory approval of sorafenib as a treatment for HCC.
However,
cost may limit the use of the drug, which costs about $4,500 per month.
06/12/07
Source A
Pollack. Drug appears to be first effective medication for liver cancer. International
Herald Tribune. June 4, 2007.
