Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

Drug T-DM1 proven to stall the disease longer than current treatments, says NHS Trust Drug block growth of cancer, then destroys cancer cells from within Could be available for sufferers within a few years By Eddie Wrenn PUBLISHED: 10:05 EST, 4 June 2012 | UPDATED: 10:05 EST, 4 June 2012 The new treatment uses a two-stage approach to stop cancers growing - and then destroy them from within Medical experts in the UK have made a major breakthrough in their research to keep breast cancer at bay for longer. A new drug, which has been tested, has been proven to stall the disease for longer than current treatments, providing fresh hope for patients. The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle was among a handful of centres across the world to test a new treatment for advanced breast cancer. Results from the study also show the drug, T-DM1, significantly reduces the side effects of chemotherapy. While T-DM1 is undergoing further trials, the discovery is being hailed as a major step forward. Dr Mark Verrill, consultant medical oncologist at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has played a key role in the study, which specifically looked at an advanced form of the disease known … Continue reading →

T-DM1 Spares Women From Some, But Not All, Serious Side Effects June 4, 2012 (Chicago) -- A new targeted cancer drug delayed the worsening of metastatic breast cancer, possibly with fewer side effects than traditional treatments, according to results of a late-stage study. Called T-DM1, the new drug combines Herceptin with a potent chemotherapy drug. It's been called a "magic bullet": Herceptin homes in on cancer cells and delivers the cancer-killing agent directly to its target without damaging nearby cells. The study involved nearly 1,000 women with metastatic breast cancer that was continuing to get worse despite treatment with Herceptin and a common chemotherapy drug. Half the women got T-DM1 and the other half got Tykerb and Xeloda, a standard treatment for women who aren't helped by Herceptin. T-DM1 delayed the time to the disease progressing by about three months. Among women who received T-DM1, the average time before the disease got worse was about nine-and-a-half months vs. about six-and-a-half months for those getting the standard drugs. Although a few months might not sound like much, it can be a huge gain for seriously ill patients who are running out of options, say doctors studying the drug. It is still … Continue reading →

June 4, 2012 A clinical trial of an experimental new breast cancer treatment found that it extended the life expectancy of patients without the symptoms of the disease worsening, various media outlets reported on Sunday. The drug, TDM-1, is manufactured by Roche, and according to Naomi Kresge and Robert Langreth of Bloomberg, it works by carrying chemotherapy directly into cancer cells while successfully avoiding healthy ones, resulting in fewer side effects than conventional treatments. According to Reuters reporter Deena Beasley, the treatment combines Roches antibody Herceptin (trastuzumab) and a cell-killing compound adapted from chemotherapy drugs and developed by ImmunoGen. The result is what she refers to as an armed antibody, and what USA Todays Liz Szabo describes as a drug combination designed to act like a smart bomb, which delivers its payload directly to tumor cells while reducing collateral damage to the rest of the body. Approximately 1,000 patients suffering from advanced or metastatic breast cancer, all of whom had previously received treatment from both a taxane chemotherapy drug and Herceptin, participated in the study, Beasley said. Those who took TDM-1 lived for a median of 9.6 months before their symptoms worsened, compared to just 6.4 months for those who … Continue reading →

CHICAGO Doctors have successfully dropped the first "smart bomb" on breast cancer, using a drug to deliver a toxic payload to tumor cells while leaving healthy ones alone. In a key test involving nearly 1,000 women with very advanced disease, the experimental treatment extended by several months the time women lived without their cancer getting worse, doctors planned to report Sunday at a cancer conference in Chicago. More importantly, the treatment seems likely to improve survival; it will take more time to know for sure. After two years, 65 percent of women who received it were still alive versus 47 percent of those in a comparison group given two standard cancer drugs. That margin fell just short of the very strict criteria researchers set for stopping the study and declaring the new treatment a winner, and they hope the benefit becomes more clear with time. In fact, so many women on the new treatment are still alive that researchers cannot yet determine average survival for the group. "The absolute difference is greater than one year in how long these people live," said the study's leader, Dr. Kimberly Blackwell of Duke University. "This is a major step forward." A warning to … Continue reading →

A DRUG that delivers a powerful poison to tumours without some of the side effects of traditional treatments can delay the worsening of breast cancer and also appears to prolong lives, according to a new study. Besides representing an advance in treating breast cancer, the success in the clinical trial validates an idea that is being pursued by pharmaceutical companies to treat various types of cancer in a way that delivers drugs to cancerous cells while sparing healthy ones. ''We've envisioned a world where cancer treatment would kill the cancer and not hurt the patient,'' said Kimberly Blackwell, professor of medicine at the Duke Cancer Institute and the lead investigator in the trial. ''And this drug does that.'' Advertisement: Story continues below The drug, known as T-DM1, was developed by Genentech. The company plans to file for approval later this year. That could mean the drug will reach the market next year. T-DM1 and similar drugs under development consist of powerful toxins linked to proteins called antibodies. The antibodies latch on to cancer cells and deliver the toxic payload directly into those cells. Since the toxin is not active until it reaches the tumour, side effects are reduced. Such treatments, … Continue reading →

June 3, 2012 in Nation/World Breast cancer treatment stillexperimental Marilynn Marchione Associated Press CHICAGO Doctors have successfully dropped the first smart bomb on breast cancer, using a drug to deliver a toxic payload to tumor cells while leaving healthy onesalone. In a key test involving nearly 1,000 women with very advanced disease, the experimental treatment extended by several months the time women lived without their cancer getting worse, doctors planned to report today at a cancer conference inChicago. More importantly, the treatment seems likely to improve survival; it will take more time to know for sure. After two years, 65 percent of women who received it were still alive versus 47 percent of those in a comparison group given two standard cancerdrugs. That margin fell just short of the very strict criteria researchers set for stopping the study and declaring the new treatment a winner, and they hope the benefit becomes clearer with time. In fact, so many women on the new treatment are still alive that researchers cannot yet determine average survival for thegroup. The absolute difference is greater than one year in how long these people live, said the studys leader, Dr. Kimberly Blackwell of Duke University. This … Continue reading →

By Naomi Kresge and Robert Langreth - 2012-06-03T12:36:19Z An experimental breast cancer drug from Roche Holding AG (ROG) that carries chemotherapy directly into malignant cells while bypassing healthy ones delayed tumors longer and with fewer side effects than an established therapy. The treatment, combining Roches Herceptin with an older chemotherapy medicine, delayed progression of tumors 3.2 months longer than GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK)s Tykerb with chemotherapy in women with advanced disease. The data is being reported today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. More patients on the drug, dubbed T-DM1, were alive after two years, though the difference fell short of statistical significance. Still, the results are the first proof that using an antibody to deliver a toxic dose of chemotherapy into a solid tumor can work, said Kimberly Blackwell, a study author and professor of medicine at Duke University, in an interview. It is fantastic data, said Shanu Modi, a breast cancer oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who was not involved in the current trial. If approved, it is going to be rapidly taken up by the oncology community. For sure, I will be using a lot of it. Roche, based in … Continue reading →

* Estimated to improve survival by 33 pct * Side effects include cardiac disorder, high blood pressure * Zytiga U.S. sales could reach $1.5 bln annually - analyst (Recasts, adds analyst comment, Medivation (NasdaqGM: MDVN - news) trial details) CHICAGO, June 2 (Reuters) - A trial of Johnson & Johnson (TLO: JNJ-U.TI - news) 's Zytiga in certain prostate cancer patients showed that it doubled the amount of time they lived without the disease getting worse, potentially offering new hope for patients who see their cancer return. The trial, involving 1,088 patients who had stopped responding to traditional hormonal drugs but had not been treated with chemotherapy, found that Zytiga slowed the spread of the disease by 58 percent. Zytiga is one of several new prostate cancer treatments that may significantly prolong the life of patients by zeroing in more closely on certain mechanisms that help tumors proliferate. New data on the medications are being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago. The drug's robust results in earlier-stage cancer - it is already approved for men with prostate cancer who previously received chemotherapy - have implications for companies like Dendreon (Xetra: 615606 - news) … Continue reading →

By Nick Craven PUBLISHED: 17:21 EST, 2 June 2012 | UPDATED: 17:22 EST, 2 June 2012 A new magic bullet drug to be unveiled today will offer hope for thousands of women suffering one of the most deadly forms of breast cancer. The medicine, aimed at an aggressive form of the disease, is expected to offer several months of quality extra life and drastically cuts the debilitating side effects of traditional therapy. It could be available in Britain within a year, provided it passes regulatory checks. But experts predict that a clamour for the drug, codenamed T-DM1, will put added financial pressure on the NHS. Dr Eliot Sims of King George Hospital, Ilford, in Essex, who was part of a trial of the drug, said: Is the emergence of T-DM1 going to cause funding problems? You bet it will. Breakthrough: The medicine is expected to offer several months of quality extra life for breast cancer sufferers The clinical consultant oncologist added: Its been the holy grail of oncology to find magic bullets treatments which attack breast cancer without causing side effects. This is a huge breakthrough, and it is unusual to see such dramatic improvements. Pharmaceutical giant Roche is due … Continue reading →

THURSDAY, May 31 (HealthDay News) -- Taking the arthritis drug methotrexate in pill form was just as effective as receiving it by injection for the long-term treatment of children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, a new study has found. Since both methods also have a similar incidence of side effects, researchers said the findings suggest that children may as well take the medication as a pill instead of having to put up with the discomfort of injections. They noted, however, that their study looked back at registry information on kids with arthritis. More research -- including controlled clinical trials, the gold standard of research -- is needed before making a treatment recommendation. The study, published May 30 in the journal Arthritis Care & Research, was funded by drug maker Wyeth BioPharma. Methotrexate (brand name Rheumatrex) is one of the most common first-line disease-modifying antirheumatic drug treatments for arthritis. In this study, German researchers compared more than 150 patients who received methotrexate injections and more than 250 patients who took the drug orally. The male and female patients, who had a median age of 10, all received comparable doses. After six months of treatment, nearly three-quarters of patients -- including 73 percent … Continue reading →