Gefitinib News and Research

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Gefitinib is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has not gotten better after treatment with other chemotherapy. It is available only as part of a special program called the Iressa Access Program. Gefitinib is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer.

Gefitinib is an anilinoquinazoline with antineoplastic activity. Gefitinib inhibits the catalytic activity of numerous tyrosine kinases including the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which may result in inhibition of tyrosine kinase-dependent tumor growth. Specifically, this agent competes with the binding of ATP to the tyrosine kinase domain of EGFR, thereby inhibiting receptor autophosphorylation and resulting in inhibition of signal transduction. Gefitinib may also induce cell cycle arrest and inhibit angiogenesis.

AVEO second-quarter total revenues increase to $15.6 million

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today provided an update on recent research and development (R&D) and business accomplishments, and announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010.

29 Jul 2010

AVEO's initiation of SCH 900105 Phase 2 trial in non-small cell lung cancer triggers $8.5M milestone payment

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced that it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating SCH 900105 (also referred to as AV-299) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. The initiation of this trial triggers an $8.5 million milestone payment by Merck to AVEO resulting from a 2007 agreement between AVEO and Schering-Plough (now Merck).

7 Jun 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim to present new data on BIBW 2992 for NSCLC and head-and-neck cancer at ASCO 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim will present promising new data on non-small cell lung cancer as well as head-and-neck cancer for its leading investigational compound BIBW 2992 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, June 4-8, 2010.

4 Jun 2010

Clovis Oncology, Avila Therapeutics announce development agreement for NSCLC EMSI program

Clovis Oncology, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing innovative anti-cancer agents, and Avila Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company designing targeted covalent drugs, announced today an agreement for the development and commercialization of Avila's epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant-selective inhibitor (EMSI) program, currently in pre-clinical development for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

25 May 2010

Approval of personalized therapy for lung cancer in Europe will change way of treatment

The recent approval of Europe's first personalized treatment for lung cancer heralds the arrival of a new era for lung cancer treatment that will demand significant changes to the way cancer specialists and other hospital doctors work, a leading expert said today at the 2nd European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

4 May 2010

Study calls for optimized medical treatment for older patients with advanced lung cancer

Although more than two fifths of lung cancers are diagnosed in patients over 70, data from clinical trials on the safest and most effective treatments for this age group are scarce.

29 Apr 2010

Infinity Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 1b/2 trial of IPI-926 Hedgehog pathway inhibitor for pancreatic cancer

Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an innovative drug discovery and development company, today announced that it has initiated a randomized Phase 1b/2 clinical trial evaluating IPI-926, its novel, oral Hedgehog pathway inhibitor, in combination with gemcitabine in patients with pancreatic cancer.

22 Apr 2010

AstraZeneca Canada's IRESSA receives approval for treatment of NSCLC

AstraZeneca Canada announces the recently approved indication for IRESSA(R), a once-daily oral targeted therapy for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced (not amenable to curative therapy) or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have activating mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK). In conjunction with this approval, AstraZeneca is also announcing the availability of a diagnostic test which can now determine a patient's EGFR mutation status, representing a new era in personalized lung cancer treatment in Canada.

17 Mar 2010

Study: Salvage targeted therapy can be suitable for elderly patients with NSCLC

Research published in the March issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology sought to determine whether differences existed in tolerance and efficacy between patients age 70 and over and younger patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving salvage targeted therapy with epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) or chemotherapy.

4 Mar 2010

Researchers discover 93-gene signature associated with EGFR mutations in lung cancer tumors

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a validated therapeutic target for non-small cell lung cancer. Researchers have now discovered a 93-gene signature that is associated with the presence of EGFR mutations in tumors from lung cancer patients and is a favorable prognostic marker in patients with early stage lung cancer.

13 Jan 2010

Retreating with gefitinib may benefit non-small cell lung cancer patients

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer in whom treatment with gefitinib is ineffective often have limited options, but results of a new study suggest that retreating patients with the same drug could have a beneficial effect.

13 Jan 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals presents preclinical results of STA-9090 at AACR-IASLC Joint Conference

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: SNTA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced that preclinical results presented at the AACR-IASLC (American Academy of Cancer Research – International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer) Joint Conference based on work done at Synta and at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston showed that STA-9090, a potent, synthetic inhibitor of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), demonstrated potent activity against 100% of all non-small cell lung cancer cell lines tested, including those with EGFR, HER2 or KRAS mutations including the EGFR T790 mutation that is present in roughly 50% of cases of erlotinib or gefitinib resistance.

13 Jan 2010

Mouse model may help identify unknown mutations that make lung cancer cells resistant to therapy

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide and lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type. Many cases of lung adenocarcinoma are attributed to a mutation in a gene for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

9 Dec 2009

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center awards $50,000 to three young investigators

Three young investigators who have taken significant steps toward advancing the understanding of cancer will be the recipients of this year's Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, a prize awarded biennially since 2001 to scientists under the age of forty-six by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

30 Sep 2009

Winners of Paul Marks Prize 2009

29 Sep 2009

miR-21 molecule plays early and important role in nonsmoking lung cancer

The cause of lung cancer in never-smokers is poorly understood, but a study led by investigators at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and at the National Cancer Institute has identified a molecule believed to play an early and important role in its development.

28 Jul 2009

Cancer drugs erlotinib and gefitinib might treat alcoholism

A class of drugs already approved as cancer treatments might also help to beat alcohol addiction. That's the conclusion of a discovery in flies of a gene, dubbed happyhour, that has an important and previously unknown role in controlling the insects' response to alcohol.

22 May 2009

Gefitinib just as effective as chemotherapy for lung cancer

Gefitinib, also known as Iressa, the once-promising targeted therapy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, has proven as effective as chemotherapy as a second-line therapy for the disease with far fewer side effects, according to an international Phase III clinical trial, led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

20 Nov 2008

Circulating tumor cells can reveal genetic signature of dangerous lung cancers

Using a miniature laboratory-on-a-chip device, a team of investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital, led by Daniel Haber, M.D., Ph.D., and Mehmet Toner, Ph.D., both members of the MIT-Harvard Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE), has developed a method that detects and analyzes the genetic signature of rare tumor cells in the bloodstream.

9 Jul 2008

Report says cancer clinicians should understand and consider the economic impact of new interventions

Cancer clinicians should understand and consider the economic impact of new interventions, which often have substantial costs, according to a report appearing in the July/August issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

2 Jul 2008

Gefitinib News and Research

AVEO second-quarter total revenues increase to $15.6 million

AVEO's initiation of SCH 900105 Phase 2 trial in non-small cell lung cancer triggers $8.5M milestone payment

Boehringer Ingelheim to present new data on BIBW 2992 for NSCLC and head-and-neck cancer at ASCO 2010

Clovis Oncology, Avila Therapeutics announce development agreement for NSCLC EMSI program

Approval of personalized therapy for lung cancer in Europe will change way of treatment

Study calls for optimized medical treatment for older patients with advanced lung cancer

Infinity Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 1b/2 trial of IPI-926 Hedgehog pathway inhibitor for pancreatic cancer

AstraZeneca Canada's IRESSA receives approval for treatment of NSCLC

Study: Salvage targeted therapy can be suitable for elderly patients with NSCLC

Researchers discover 93-gene signature associated with EGFR mutations in lung cancer tumors

Retreating with gefitinib may benefit non-small cell lung cancer patients

Synta Pharmaceuticals presents preclinical results of STA-9090 at AACR-IASLC Joint Conference

Mouse model may help identify unknown mutations that make lung cancer cells resistant to therapy

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center awards $50,000 to three young investigators

Winners of Paul Marks Prize 2009

miR-21 molecule plays early and important role in nonsmoking lung cancer

Cancer drugs erlotinib and gefitinib might treat alcoholism

Gefitinib just as effective as chemotherapy for lung cancer

Circulating tumor cells can reveal genetic signature of dangerous lung cancers

Report says cancer clinicians should understand and consider the economic impact of new interventions

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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