Cancer, Cancer Treatment

(Ivanhoe Newswire) — A promising drug for treatment of colorectal cancer may not be effective in 40 percent of patients with the cancer, new research shows.

Analysis of a recent study shows when given the drug cetuximab (Erbitux), metastatic colorectal cancer patients with tumors showing the “normal” type of a gene called K-ras survived longer whereas those with a mutated form of the gene did not. More specifically, patients with normal K-ras tumors who received cetuximab showed an almost two-fold improvement in overall survival and progression-free survival compared to similar patients who received supportive care alone. Those with mutated K-ras tumors who received the drug showed no significant improvement compared to similar patients who received supportive care alone.

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(Ivanhoe Newswire) — A promising drug for treatment of colorectal cancer may not be effective in 40 percent of patients with the cancer, new research shows.

Analysis of a recent study shows when given the drug cetuximab (Erbitux), metastatic colorectal cancer patients with tumors showing the “normal” type of a gene called K-ras survived longer whereas those with a mutated form of the gene did not. More specifically, patients with normal K-ras tumors who received cetuximab showed an almost two-fold improvement in overall survival and progression-free survival compared to similar patients who received supportive care alone. Those with mutated K-ras tumors who received the drug showed no significant improvement compared to similar patients who received supportive care alone.

Read the rest of this entry »