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Herceptin aces stomach-cancer trial
On the "good news" side of Roche's ledger today, the company announced results of a big study that shows Herceptin significantly prolongs the life of stomach cancer patients when added to standard chemotherapy. It's the second chunk of positive data for Herceptin in 10 days; last week, a study showed the drug benefits HER2-positive breast cancer patients for several years after treatment is concluded.
In the international stomach-cancer trial, known as ToGA, Herceptin "significantly" prolonged the lives of patients with HER2-positive, advanced stomach cancer. "This is definitely good news," Helvea analyst Karl-Heinz Koch told Dow Jones. And according to Roche's pharma CEO Bill Burns, "The ToGA study shows for the first time that Herceptin extends the lives of patients in a cancer other than breast cancer."
About 900,000 new cases of stomach cancer are diagnosed each year, with 22 percent of stomach tumors deemed HER2-positive.
Developed by Genentech--which, as you know, just agreed to a merger with Roche--Herceptin is marketed in Japan by Chugai Pharmaceuticals, internationally by Roche, and in the U.S. by Genentech.
- check out the release from Roche
- see the Dow Jones article
Related Articles:
Cancer confab may boost Novartis, GSK
Pfizer, Roche suffer as big drugs falter
High-priced meds spur dosing debate
Expensive Herceptin draws fire in UK (Nov 2007)
Comments
I am a 68-year-old cancer patient who has the same type of cancer that Steve Jobs of Apple Computers has (islet cell neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer, metastisized to the liver). This is considered a "slow growing" cancer. I was diagnosed two years ago, through ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, then examination and biopsy at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. It was determined there that my cancer is not operable. I have been treating my illness with natural remedies, such as the Budwig diet and treatment, as well as many other diet restrictions and natural supplements and vitamins, since I have no symptoms other than a slight decrease in stamina. A recent ultrasound shows very slow growth of the numerous small tumors in both organs. My mother passed away at 75 years of age with stomach cancer.
I am very hopeful that this new drug might be considered for those who have pancreatic cancer, especially in those cases such as mine that are not agressively growing, so there might be time to save a life. Since pancreatic cancer is so deadly, and usually so quickly leads to death, I see it as being one that should receive more attention than it seems to be getting now.
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