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A new
once-a-day pill may ease the symptoms and improve the quality
of life in terminally ill patients with non-small-cell lung
cancer, according to researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
ZD 1839
(Iressa), developed by AstraZeneca, is one of a new class
of drugs that targets and blocks a key growth signal in cancerous
cells.
Researchers
studied 216 patients with recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer
who had undergone two or more rounds of chemotherapy. One
group received 250 mg of ZD 1839 daily, while the second group
was given 500 mg of ZD 1839 daily until the disease progressed.
Lung cancer
symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, chest pain or
tightness, appetite and fatigue were greatly improved in approximately
40 percent of the patients and the symptom improvement was
linked with a longer survival, according to the study presented
at the 38th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO) in Orlando, Florida.
"Our
results show that patients who felt better after taking ZD
1839 actually lived longer than those whose symptoms did not
improve," said Dr. Ronald B. Natale, Acting Medical Director
at Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center and lead author
of the study. "This is important because it shows that
a daily pill reduced symptoms such to the extent that many
of our patients were able to resume their normal activities
and enjoy life for longer."
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of May 26, 2002
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