Patients with advanced breast cancer drug that has not responded to other anti-cancer drugs may soon have a new treatment option. Ixabepilone (Ixempra, Bristol-Myers Squibb) has been approved for use in combination with another cancer agent, capecitabine (generic Xeloda, Roche), in patients who no longer benefit from treatment with an anthracycline (such as doxorubicin [Adriamycin, Bedford]) and a taxane (such as paclitaxel [Taxol, Bristol-Myers Squibb] or docetaxel [Taxotere, Sanofi-Aventis]). Ixabepilone is also approved for use alone in patients who no longer benefit from an anthracycline, a taxane, and capecitabine.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, and Amgen are now able to state that colon cancer patients with a mutation to the KRAS gene do not respond to two of their drugs. The FDA has approved revised labeling for cetuximab (Erbitux, Bristol-Myers Squibb/ImClone) and panitumumab (Vectibix, Eli Lilly and Amgen), which is in the same drug class. Merck KGaA markets Erbitux outside the U.S.

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The FDA is requiring stronger warnings in the prescribing information for tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers. An updated boxed warning highlights the increased risk of cancer drugs in children and adolescents who receive these drugs to treat juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disorder, Crohn’s disease, and other inflammatory disorders.

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Obesity may be contributing to chemotherapy resistance and increasing relapse rates among children with leukemia. Obesity is associated with anncreased incidence of many types of cancer drugs. Given the increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, these findings could have important implications for cancer treatment and may help to explain the increased leukemia relapse rate in obese patients.

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In a new study, Merck’s drug vorinostat (Zolinza), a histone deacetylase inhibitor also known as suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), was able to cross the blood-brain barrier and reduce the development of large metastatic tumors in mice brains by 62% when compared with mice not receiving the drug. Vorinostat is approved to treat patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

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A new test, called OVA1 (Vermillion, Inc.), can help detect ovarian cancer in a pelvic mass. OVA1 drug identifies some women who will benefit from referral to a gynecological oncologist for surgery despite negative results from other tests for ovarian cancer. If other test results suggest cancer, referral to an oncologist is appropriate even with a negative OVA1 result.

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Rasburicase (Elitek, Sanofi-Aventis U.S.) has been approved for the initial management of plasma uric acid levels in adult patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and solid tumor malignancies who are receiving anti-cancer therapy that is expected to cause tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) and elevations of plasma uric acid.

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