A clinical study showed that a next-generation targeted agent for ALK positive lung cancer is "effective."
Professor Dong-Wan Kim at SNUH publishes the results in The Lancet Oncology.
It was reported that a cup of coffee is good for bone health of menopausal women.
The released research findings showed that Ceritinib, a targeted agent, is effective in ALK positive lung cancer and treating brain metastasis.
An article published by Professor Dong-Wan Kim of the Department of Medical Oncology at the Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) as the First author shows the final analysis results of the ASCEND-1 study conducted on patients with ALK positive lung cancer at 20 hospitals in 11 countries.
This paper was published in the latest issue (3/11, online) of The Lancet Oncology (IF=24.690), a major journal in the field of oncology.
The research team assessed the treatment effects and safety of Ceritinib, a next-generation ALK inhibitor, by administering 750 mg of Ceritinib every day to 246 patients with progressive ALK positive lung cancer.
As a result, size of the tumor was significantly reduced in 72% of patients who did not take other ALK inhibitors in the past and in 56% of patients who took other ALK inhibitors. The effect lasted for 17.0 months in patients who did not take other ALK inhibitors in the past and for 8.3 months in patients who took other ALK inhibitors, which represents a long treatment effect. It was also effective in inhibiting the progress of brain metastasis in about 70% of patients.
Ceritinib's common adverse effects include diarrhea, nausea, and an increase of liver enzyme levels.
Professor Dong-Wan Kim said, "Ceritinib was found effective in patients with ALK positive lung cancer who account for 5% of the overall lung cancer patients and are resistant to existing ALK inhibitors; and this next-generation ALK inhibitor may act as promising first line treatment." "A phase II study is currently underway to verify the Ceritinib effect in patients with brain metastasis."
Lung cancer is the fourth common cancer (10.3%) in Korean patients (202,053) as of 2010. People are afraid of this disease due to its poor prognosis; the five-year survival rate is merely 19.7%.
ALK positive lung cancer is caused by a fusion of ALK and EML4 gene. If the two genes converge, ALK gene signals a rapid cell growth. The cell that received the signal transforms itself into a cancer cell. Ceritinib blocks the signal and induces the death of cancer cells.