Newspaper Page Text
14A
August 26, 2004
Living
FDA approves lung cancer drug Alimta
% DIEDTRA HENDERSON
Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) —
The Food and Drug
Administration on Thurs
day approved a cancer drug
made by pharmaceutical
giant Eli Lilly and Co. to
treat advanced non-small
cell lung cancer in patients
who have undergone
chemotherapy.
According to the Ameri
can Cancer Society, non
small cell lung cancer is the
leading cause of cancer
related deaths in the nation.
The health test Americans fail
(NAPSI)-We know we
should do it, but we just don'.
Americans are avoiding a sim
ple test that can save their lives.
According to a Gallup survey,
while most people know that
once they are 50 years old they
should have a colon cancer
screening test, nearly half of
adults in that age group are
not doing it.
Colon cancer is the second
leading cause of cancer death
in adults in this country. Sur
vival rates are as high as 90 per
cent if the disease is diagnosed
“and treated in its éarliest
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Eighty percent of 174,000
new lung cancer cases diag
nosed each year are non
small cell lung cancer. By
the time most patients
arrive for treatment, the
cancer is widespread.
The drug, Alimta, in clin
ical trials was found to
shrink tumors as effectively
as another cancer-fighting
drug, Taxotere. But Alimta
did so with fewer troubling
side effects, which include
hair loss, tingling fingers
and toes, depressed blood
count, and hospitalizations
stages-but less than 40 percent
of cancers are discovered at
that stage.
This disturbing information
is revealed in a Gallup survey
commissioned by the College
of American Pathologists, a
not-for-profit medical associa
tion that represents nearly
16,000 board-certified pathol
ogists. The survey assesses the
public’s knowledge of and arti
tude toward health screening
tests. Most importanty, it
reveals the patterns of behavior
that lead to health problems.
“Early detection is the single
AUGUSTA FOCUS
for subsequent infection.
“Lung cancer is a very
devastating disease and the
therapies can be hard on
patients,” said Roy Herbst,
chief of thoracic oncology
at MD Anderson Cancer
Center. The Houston,
Texas, facility sees nearly
1,500 new lung cancer
patients per year and treat
ed at least 20 in the Alimta
vs. Taxotere study.
One in 50 patients taking
Alimta had side effects.
That benefit came without
any lessening of the drug’s
most important factor in sur
viving colon cancer,” said
Renee Ellerbroek, MD, FCAP,
a pathologist from Des
Moines. “There are many mis
perceptions surrounding
screening tests generally and
colon cancer screening tests in
particular. We need to make
sure that people know what
the test involves and how
important it is o be tested
early.”
According to Dr. Ellerbroek,
a physician who cares for
patients through laboratory
medicine, people often equate
effectiveness. That’s signifi
cant as cancer care moves
toward more combination
drug or sequential thera
pies, Herbst said.
“We can only do that if
the drugs we give (patients)
leave them in a state ...
where they're still strong.
You can kill the cancer, but
leave the patient feeling
well,” he said.
The Alimta treatment,
500 mg every 21 days, costs
patients $3,900 per month,
according to the company.
The anti-cancer drug works
“colon cancer screening” with
colonoscopy. However, the
most common colon cancer
screening test is actually a fecal
occult blood test (FOBT),
given yearly. The FOBT can
be performed at home by the
patient, and is not invasive. As
a result, many physicians rec
ommend an annual FOBT
and a flexible sigmoidoscopy
every five years-as good insur
ance measures against colon
cancer developing unnoticed
or untreated.
The College of American
Pathologists recommends reg
by interfering with three
enzymes on which tumors
depend.
“There’s no question, the
survival was comparable to
the survival with the best
drugs we have,” said Dr.
Paul Bunn, director of the
University of Colorado
Cancer Center and princi
pal investigator for the clin
ical trial. “This drug is as
good as anything else we
have. It does benefit
patients.”
Dr. Richard Gralla, presi
dent of the New York Lung
ular screening for colon cancer
beginning at age 50. Individu
als with a family history of
either colon cancer or polyps
may need to be screened earli
er, and should discuss it with
their physicians.
“Having regular screening
tests is one of the most impor
tant things a person can do to
prevent cancer,” said Dr. Eller
broek. “I urge all patients, par
ticularly those approaching
the age of 50, to ask their doc
tors about colon cancer screen
ing. Don't let a preventable
disease cost you your life.”
Cancer Alliance, estimated
tens of thousands of lung
cancer patients per year
would be eligible to take
Alimta.
The trial tested a simple
way to reduce side effects:
Taking Alimta in concert
with folate pills and B-12
injections.
“When you take those
special B vitamins, it fur
ther reduces the side effects
of the chemotherapy,” Gral
la said.
Lilly shares fell 21 cents to
close at $64.35 on the New
York Stock Exchange.
As a public service, the Col
lege provides a free Internet
based service that reminds
people to schedule important
screening tests such as Pap
tests, colon cancer screening
tests and mammograms. This
e-mail reminder can be set up
in seconds by visiting
MyHealth Test Reminder
.com. Patients select the day
they want to schedule a screen
ing test and on that date an e
mail from MyHealthTest
Reminder.com reminds the
patient to schedule the
appointment.