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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The latest study on ovarian cancer reveals promising news. A drug already touted for its ability to fight other cancers can give women with recurrent ovarian cancer new treatment option. However, it still needs approval from the government.
In a worldwide phase III clinical trial the drug trabectedin helped extend the time before another recurrence. Phase III is often the last step before a regulatory agency such as the FDA approves a drug for approval as a safe, effective treatment.
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In the trial, half the women whose cancer had progressed after first-line treatment were given a combination of trabectedin and the chemotherapy drug pegylated lilosomal doxorubicin and half were given the chemo drug only, which is currently the standard treatment in these cases.
Those who received the combination therapy saw no progression of the cancer for an average of 7.3 months, compared to an average of 5.8 months for those treated with the single drug only. For those who had relapsed more than six months after the initial treatment, the median progression-free time was 9.2 months for the combination treatment and 7.5 months for the chemotherapy only.
These are exciting results because positive trials in recurrent ovarian cancer are rare and have almost always led to federally approved treatments, Dr. Bradley Monk, leader of the trial and gynecologic oncologist was quoted as saying.
Under the brand name Yondelis, trabectedin is already approved for use in treating soft tissue sarcoma in Europe and South Korea. The drug, which binds to the DNA of cancer cells and blocks its ability to multiply, is also being studied to treat prostate, breast and pediatric cancers.
SOURCE: Study presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology on September 15th in Stockholm.
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Lindsay Braun at lbraun@ivanhoe.com.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
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