Clinical trial of gefitinib for advanced lung cancer cl...( ebo daily. As of March 10 2005 611 p...),Health

"The interim analysis indicates that even with accrual of more patients or with longer follow-up, the gefitinib arm would not improve survival," said Laurence Baker, D.O., chairman of SWOG and professor of internal medicine and pharmacology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. This analysis did confirm, however, the favorable survival seen with the chemotherapy and radiation regimen previously reported by SWOG**, and thus patients currently entered in the trial are being advised to complete this part of their treatment.

"Based on the analysis, the use of gefitinib following chemotherapy and radiation should not be prescribed for this group of patients," said Scott Saxman, M.D., who oversees lung cancer clinical trials for NCI.

An estimated 172,570 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States in 2005. Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in this country. An estimated 163,510 deaths from lung cancer will occur in 2005 in the United States, accounting for about 29 percent of all cancer-related deaths in the nation.

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19-Apr-2005