Xeloda shown to aid pancreatic cancer survival
The interim analysis of one of the largest phase III studies investigating the first-line treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer has shown that adding Roche's Xeloda (capecitabine) to standard chemotherapy (gemcitabine) 'significantly extends patient survival' (median survival 7.4 vs. 6 months, HR= 0.80).
The interim analysis of one of the largest phase III studies investigating the first-line treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer has shown that adding Roche's Xeloda (capecitabine) to standard chemotherapy (gemcitabine) 'significantly extends patient survival' (median survival 7.4 vs. 6 months, HR= 0.80).
The study showed that after one year, one in every four patients survived when treated with Xeloda plus standard chemotherapy, in comparison to one in five on a course consisting solely of standard chemotherapy.
The randomised study, funded and designed by Cancer Research UK, compared the survival of gemcitabine with gemcitabine plus Xeloda and involved 533 previously untreated patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. The findings were unveiled at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO) in Paris, France.
Despite it's prolificness and potency, it is the fifth leading cause of all cancer deaths in the developed world and has 78,000 new cases diagnosed annually in Europe and 30,000 new cases in the US, very few treatment options are currently available for pancreatic cancer.
Lead investigator, Professor David Cunningham said: 'This is the first time that adding another cytotoxic drug to gemcitabine has improved the outcome for patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer; the trial results are therefore an important milestone. The combination of gemcitabine and capecitabine should now be considered one of the standard options for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.'
Xeloda is licensed in more than 90 countries worldwide, including the EU, US, Japan, Australia and Canada; was approved by the EMEA and US FDA for adjuvant treatment of colon cancer in March and June 2005,= respectively; is licensed in combination with Taxotere (docetaxel) in women with metastatic breast cancer and whose disease has progressed following intravenous chemotherapy with anthracyclines; is indicated for monotherapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer that is resistant to other chemotherapy drugs, such as paclitaxel and anthracyclines, and is licensed for the first-line treatment of stomach cancer in South Korea.