Lung cancer treatment gets FDA approval

Genentech Inc. has received federal approval to sell the drug Avastin for treatment of the most common kind of lung cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the drug in combination with chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer, the South San Francisco company said Wednesday. Genentech has a manufacturing plant in Vacaville.

In a clinical trial of 878 people, 51 percent of patients treated with Avastin and chemotherapy were still alive after one year compared to 44 percent of those who only received chemotherapy. The median survival rate was two months longer for patients who took Avastin than those who got chemotherapy alone.

Lung cancer kills 162,000 people per year in the United States, more than any other type of cancer.

Genentech said it would cap the price of the drug at $55,000 per year. Treatment of colorectal cancer with Avastin costs less than $4,400 per month, but lung cancer treatment requires higher doses at a typical cost of $8,800 per month.

The FDA approved use of the drug for colorectal cancer in February 2004.

There are quite a few types of cells (duh) in the lung and non small cell reflects the cancer of the bronchi. It is the number one cause of cancer related deaths in developed countries. NSCC are more treated by surgery, respond poorly to chemotherapy and are most often treated by surgery. [Since most patients present with solid tumors that have not metastisized] The most incriminating evidence for the origin of NSCC is cigarette smoke.
Remember Avastin is a humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor. [see earlier post from sept 11]