Category list : Antineoplastic agents

Combination drug approved in Europe for metastatic colorectal cancer

A new combination oral treatment, Lonsurf, has been granted a marketing authorisation for adults with metastatic colorectal cancer by the European Commission.

Alectinib approved by FDA for ALK-positive lung cancer Subscription

Alectinib, a new drug for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small cell lung cancer, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Don't overlook opportunities to repurpose existing drugs Subscription

More needs to be done to incentivise research into new indications for existing medicines.

Avastin indicated for cervical cancer Subscription

Avastin (bevacizumab;Roche) is now licensed, in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin or, alternatively, paclitaxel and topotecan in patients who cannot receive platinum therapy, for the treatment of adult patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix. This is in addition to its use in advanced non-small cell lung cancer or advanced cancers of the bowel, breast or kidney.

NSAIDs may help protect against skin cancer Subscription

The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a class of medicines used to treat pain and inflammation, is associated with a reduced risk of developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a type of skin cancer, research suggests.

Chemoprevention with tamoxifen cuts risk of breast cancer by almost 30% Subscription

Tamoxifen used in primary prevention cuts the risk of breast cancer by around 30% and this benefit lasts for at least 20 years, a long-term follow-up of the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study shows.

Lipophilic bisphosphonates used to target lung cancer Subscription

A new generation of lipophilic bisphosphonates has been designed to target cancer, with a zoledronic acid analogue demonstrating efficacy against lung adenocarcinoma.

Ibrutinib launched for treatment of mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia Subscription

Ibrutinib, a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been launched in the UK for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Clinical Pharmacist's monthly news round-up: the top 10 in the past month Subscription

What has been happening in the world of pharmacy? Here’s our pick of must-read news from the past month…

Criticism voiced over new rules for Cancer Drugs Fund Subscription

Cancer charities and the pharmaceutical industry have expressed concerns over the way cancer medicines are appraised after a revised process for assessing drugs available through the Cancer Drugs Fund was published by NHS England.

Wales will not have a Cancer Drugs Fund, health minister says Subscription

Wales will not have a Cancer Drugs Fund, despite a 98,000-signature petition calling for equity of access to cancer drugs for patients in England and Wales being handed to the Welsh Assembly on 5 November 2014.

Adding bevacizumab to triple therapy improves outcome in colorectal cancer Subscription

Patient outcome is improved when bevacizumab is given with a triple- rather than a two-drug combination in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Green light for first treatment to target ovarian cancer with BRCA mutation Subscription

The European Medicines Agency has recommended that Lynparza (olaparib) be approved to combat a type of ovarian cancer for which there are limited treatment options.

Scientific advances are not translating into new cancer drugs, expert warns Subscription

The global system for discovering new cancer drugs is failing to turn scientific advances into innovative new medicines, Paul Workman, interim chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research in London has warned.

Treatment tested for patients with visceral leishmaniasis and HIV in Africa Subscription

The efficacy and safety of amphotericin plus miltefosine to treat visceral leishmaniasis patients with HIV will be examined in a Phase III randomized clinical trial in Ethiopia.

Cancer drugs approved faster in the United States than in Europe or Canada Subscription

Regulatory agencies in the United States take less time to approve new cancer drugs than those in Europe or Canada, according to new research.

New melanoma treatment approved by NICE Subscription

The National Institute for Health and care Excellence has issued draft guidance recommending that dabrafenib should be available on the NHS for the treatment of melanoma that has spread or can’t be completely removed by surgery in patients with a BRAF gene mutation. 

Promising results for lenalidomide plus dexamethasone in myeloma Subscription

A trial involving more than 1,600 patients with multiple myeloma showed improvement in progression-free survival with a new combination therapy.

Rare blood cancer treatments recommended for approval by the EMA

The European Medicines Agency has approved two new medicines, ibrutinib (Janssen-Cilag’s Imbruvica) and idelalisib (Gilead Science’s Zydelig), for adult patients with rare blood cancers.

Exposure to light at night may reduce effectiveness of breast cancer drug tamoxifen

Keeping the lights on during the night may cause breast cancer patients to become resistant to a commonly-prescribed treatment.

Everolimus angioedema risk Subscription

Patients taking everolimus (Votubia; Novartis) and concomitant angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor therapy, such as ramipril, may be at increased risk of angioedema, according to the updated summary of product characteristics.

Everolimus fails to extend life in advanced liver cancer Subscription

Survival rates in patients with advanced liver cancer are not improved by the mTOR inhibitor everolimus, the EVOLVE-1 clinical trial suggests.

Encouraging survival data for new melanoma drugs

Concurrent treatment with nivolumab and ipilimumab for patients with advanced melanoma results in overall survival of 82% and 75% at one year and two years, respectively, reveals follow-up of a phase Ib study.

Vemurafenib resistance pathway yields targets for melanoma treatment

Researchers from Cancer Research UK have identified a family of proteins that mediate the development of resistance to vemurafenib, a BRAF enzyme inhibitor used to treat patients with advanced melanoma.

Teva launches new pegylated filgrastim for reduction of neutropenia

Teva has launched a new pegylated form of filgrastim. It is licensed for reduction of duration of neutropenia and the incidence of febrile neutropenia in adult patients treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy for malignancy.

Targeted oral anti-melanoma therapy dabrafenib set for UK launch

Healthcare professionals will soon be able to add dabrafenib — a targeted oral anti-cancer therapy — to the armoury of medicines available to treat patients with melanoma.

Pixantrone provides a new treatment option for non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma Subscription

Patients in the UK with non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma will soon have a new treatment option — pixantrone.

Community pharmacists should query prescriptions for cancer drugs Subscription

Community pharmacists should question whether it is appropriate for a GP to prescribe a cancer medicine and also whether there could have been a misinterpretation of instructions from the hospital or cancer centre, according to Simon Purcell, lead pharmacist in haematology at the Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

ASCO R&D: nivolumab, lambrolizumab and selumetinib for melanoma

The following data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2013 annual meeting in Chicago (31 May–4 June 2013).

Aspirin may protect against melanoma Subscription

Aspirin may have a chemoprotective effect against the development of melanoma, observational research suggests. Data from a cohort of almost 60,000 postmenopausal women revealed 548 incident melanomas.

Targeted cancer therapy Subscription

Reflection and evaluation are elements of the CPD cycle that pharmacists often find difficult, yet they are integral to producing valid, and rewarding, CPD records.

Malignant melanoma treatments get green light from NICE Subscription

Ipilimumab and vemurafenib have been approved for use in the NHS in England and Wales for the treatment of advanced malignant melanoma.

Melanoma hopeful trametinib outperforms chemotherapy in phase III trial Subscription

Compared with chemotherapy, trametinib — an orally active selective MEK inhibitor — improved rates of progression-free survival in patients with metastatic BRAF-mutated melanoma, a recent study suggests.

Advanced melanoma drug vemurafenib launched

Vemurafenib, a targeted oral medicine to treat patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, has been launched by Roche Products. The medicine, marketed as Zelboraf, is licensed as a monotherapy for adults with BRAF V600 mutation-positive tumours. It acts by inhibiting the BRAF serine-threonine kinase.

Anti-oestrogens and melanoma risk

Women who survive breast cancer have a higher risk of developing melanoma if anti-oestrogen medicines did not form part of their therapy (Cancer Prevention Research 2012;5:82), data suggest.

Biological agents for RA linked with melanoma

Ipilimumab launched as second-line therapy for advanced melanoma

A new intravenous therapy is available for the treatment of advanced (unresectable or metastatic) melanoma in adults who have received prior therapy.

Vemurafenib shows potential as targeted melanoma therapy

Genetically-targeted chemotherapy combinations based on the BRAF-kinase inhibitor vemurafenib are going on trial for the treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma.

Ipilimumab improves melanoma survival in trials

A phase III study suggests the human monoclonal antibody ipilimumab, in combination with dacarbazine, improves overall survival in patients with previously untreated metastatic melanoma.

Pioglitazone cardiac risk and risk of jaw osteonecrosis with some antineoplastic drugs highlighted

Pioglitazone should be discontinued if any deterioration in a patient’s cardiac status occurs, according to the latest Drug Safety Update (January 2011).

Low-dose methotrexate and NSAIDs Subscription

This theoretical case highlights issues regarding the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by patients on methotrexate, advice that pharmacists can give, and the warning signs of adverse effects

Target high-risk people for melanoma screening

Targeting high-risk individuals for screening could be the best way to improve early detection and treatment of malignant melanoma Alexander Stratigos, of the department of dermatology at the University of Athens Medical School, told the audience during a session at the European Association of Dermatology and Venereology 2010 Spring Symposium.

New study finds no link between antioxidants and melanoma risk

Vitamin and mineral supplements containing antioxidants are not associated with an increased melanoma risk, according to new research published in the Archives of Dermatology (2009;8:879).

Pegylated interferon provides benefits in stage III melanoma

Prolonged treatment with adjuvant pegylated interferon alfa-2b improves recurrence-free survival in patients with stage III melanoma, results of a phase III study suggest (Lancet 2008;372:117).

MTX melanoma risk

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are treated with methotrexate are at increased risk of melanoma and other malignancies, a new review of data suggests. Researchers in Australia identified 87 malignancies among 459 RA patients who had been treated with methotrexate.

New cancer drugs might also find use in heart disease Subscription

The reports on this and the next page are from the XIIth International Symposium on Atherosclerosis which was held in Stockholm on June 25-29

Temozolomide for melanoma

Temozolomide (Temodal) is as effective as dacarbazine for metastatic melanoma and has the advantage of being an oral preparation, say Dr Mark Middleton (department of medical oncology, Christie hospital NHS trust, Manchester) and colleagues.