Re: Tarceva: Effectiveness of New Drug Against Lung Cancer
From: Hopey5000 (hopey5000_at_aol.com)
Date: 11/29/04
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Date: 29 Nov 2004 20:48:11 GMT
One hates to dash hopes. However, Tarceva is sadly not a miracle drug for most
patients, and has efficacy similar to Iressa.
For non-smokers and very light ones with adenocarcinoma or BAC and tyrosine
kinase damage, it is an excellent drug, with response rates exceeding 35%.
For others, squamous cell patients, smokers, and others without identifiable
tyrosine kinase damage, the drug will likely work like Iressa (based upon
initial clinical trials) providing modest disease stabilization and relief of
symptoms. For that group, the drug is likely to be third line treatment like
Iressa, utilized after platinum and Taxanes are no longer effective.
>Subject: Tarceva: New Drug Against Lung Cancer
>From: robtcohen@aol.com.spam.no (Robert Cohen)
>Date: 11/21/2004 4:19 PM Eastern Standard Time
>Message-id: <20041121161940.07117.00000998@mb-m10.aol.com>
>
>http://www.nynewsday.com/news/health/ny-bzdrug1120,0,6097063.story?coll=ny
>-health-headlines
>
>copyrighted by ny newsday 2004
>
>21 november 04
>
>Top Stories
> A new cancer fighter
> Market not ready to cheer
> Cancer group turns adviser
> USDA testing for nation's 2nd possible case
> LI firm's cancer drug approved
>
>BY RANDI F. MARSHALL
>STAFF WRITER
>
>Suzanne Staats woke up Friday morning to the sound of her husband's voice.
>"It's approved! It's approved!" exclaimed Robert Staats.
>
>Tarceva, the newly approved lung cancer drug, might be Staats' best hope. The
>56-year-old mother of two has late-stage lung cancer -- and believes her
>worsening cough is a sign that chemotherapy is no longer working.
>
>So, Tarceva is at the top of her agenda for her next appointment with her
>oncologist Monday morning. "It would be wonderful," said Staats, who lives in
>Massapequa. "I'm just looking to extend my life as long as I can."
>
>The federal approval Thursday evening of Tarceva is particularly good news
>for
>lung cancer patients and their doctors, who cite the locally developed drug
>as
>a breakthrough because it may help patients live longer and avoid
>chemotherapy's agonizing side effects.
>
>Despite concerns over the price -- about $2,500 for a 30-day supply -- the
>excitement over the newest cancer drug was palpable in doctors' offices,
>support group meetings and homes like the Staats. Oncologists across the
>country Friday reported that patients are already calling to ask how they can
>get Tarceva, a once-a-day pill developed by Melville-based OSI
>Pharmaceuticals
>Inc.
>
>Dr. Abraham Chachoua, a New York University thoracic oncologist, already
>wrote
>his first prescription for Tarceva for a patient Friday morning.
>
>"It's a great drug," Chachoua said, who noted that Tarceva has proven in
>recent
>clinical trials that it increased patients' survival. "Your natural
>inclination
>would be to prescribe Tarceva above anything else."
>
>The drug, doctors say, is another weapon in the arsenal, but still far from a
>cure. "It's one more step toward the goal of helping these patients
>significantly," said Dr. Roman Perez-Soler, oncology department chairman at
>Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
>
>Perhaps the biggest drawback is the price. Tarceva costs 25 percent more than
>its closest rival, Iressa -- but that drug hasn't proven it prolongs life.
>
>Leading private health insurers, including Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield,
>Cigna
>and Oxford, said Friday they will cover Tarceva, but each placed the drug in
>the category that requires the highest co-payment. It's possible the drug
>could
>become cheaper after the insurers' committees review it.
>
>"The inequity of the system is just heartbreaking," said Karen Parles, a
>Setauket lung cancer survivor who runs the Lung Cancer Online Foundation. "So
>many of these patients just can't afford these drugs."
>
>Medicare recently developed a demonstration program -- a precursor to the
>prescription drug benefit coming in 2006 -- that would cover oral cancer
>treatments such as Iressa. But since Tarceva is new, it is unclear whether
>the
>drug would be part of that program.
>
>For those who are uninsured, OSI and its development partner, Genentech Inc.,
>will offer a patient assistance program. Said OSI chief executive Colin
>Goddard: "Those patients who can't afford and cannot access insurance or
>support to get the drug will get the drug."
>
>Some patients are already all too familiar with the cost issue. Maura
>Wolowski,
>who has been fighting lung cancer for more than a year, is now on Iressa, and
>pays $430 a month for the supply. "It's getting to be a little bit of a
>struggle," said Wolowski, a Nesconset resident who can't work because of her
>illness.
>
>Wolowski applauded the approval of Tarceva, which she took as part of a
>clinical trial from January through July. During that time, Tarceva kept her
>late-stage disease stable, allowing her to go on a Caribbean cruise with her
>husband, Rich, and visit friends out-of-state, she said.
>
>"I had the best quality of life. It was fantastic," said Wolowski, who noted
>rash and dry skin as the main side effects. "When they took me off the trial
>in
>July because they saw changes [in the tumors], they put me on chemo, and what
>a
>difference ... I had a very tough time."
>
>While better quality of life is clearly one appeal of Tarceva, Wolowski and
>other patients say they have more important goals in mind. Said Staats: "I
>need
>to stick around for a while. My work isn't done yet."
>
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