Erbitux Less Effective For Colon Cancer Patients With Second Gene Mutation

Treatment with cetuximab (Erbitux) was less effective for patients with advanced colorectal cancer with a certain gene mutation, a new study found. Scientists already knew that the presence of K-ras mutations explains about 30 to 40 percent of cases in which colorectal cancer patients fail to respond to Erbitux, developed by ImClone and sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck KGaA, and Vectibix, from Amgen. The latest findings added another 12 percent.

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Colon Cancer Drug Won’t Help Those With Certain Gene Mutation

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22 — A new study suggests that people with advanced colon cancer who have a particular gene mutation won’t benefit from the medication cetuximab (Erbitux).

While the drug can add months to the lives of people without a mutation in a gene called K-ras, those who have the mutation won’t see any benefit from this additional therapy, reports the study, which is published in the Oct. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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New Lung Cancer Approaches Suggested in Mutation Study

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 22 — Some drugs not previously considered to have potential in lung cancer treatment may, in fact, be helpful in the condition, researchers here said.

Detailed genomic analysis of 188 lung adenocarcinoma specimens revealed mutations in pathways associated with such drugs as rapamycin (Rapamune), sunitinib (Sutent), and sorafenib (Nexavar), reported Li Ding, Ph.D., of Washington University, and colleagues in the Oct. 23 issue of Nature.

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