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.
New lab test accurately identified patients who would benefit from treatment with the molecularly-targeted anti-cancer therapies gefitinib (Iressa, AstraZeneca) and erlotinib (Tarceva, Genentech).
The oral presentation of data from a single study at a national scientific conference can have an important impact on patient treatment, even before study publication or Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval
Genzyme Corporation has announced the availability of an important new test to monitor drug resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who are treated with Gleevec (imatinib mesylate).
While it is clear that the treatment of cancer has already begun to undergo a paradigm shift with the inclusion of innovative targeted therapies into current regimens, it would be wrong to assume these products will entirely replace traditional chemotherapy as the standard treatment for cancer sufferers.
While it is clear that the treatment of cancer has already begun to undergo a paradigm shift with the inclusion of innovative targeted therapies into current regimens, it would be wrong to assume these products will entirely replace traditional chemotherapy as the standard treatment for cancer sufferers.
Two designer cancer drugs differed dramatically in a laboratory test comparing their ability to shut down a mutant, overactive growth signal in lung cancer cells, reports a team headed by scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
By the time the human genome was mapped, cancer researchers had already begun investigating the proteins that were encoded by these newly identified genes.
AstraZeneca has announced that after discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company is making a labeling change to Iressa (gefitinib tablets).
Researchers have found two biomarkers that, in patients with a malignant type of brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme, were associated with response to the cancer drug erlotinib (Tarceva).
A new type of drug originally developed for lung cancer can reduce the size of breast cancer tumours when taken in combination with other drugs.
Giving women with early breast cancer a drug called gefitinib (Iressa) before surgery could reduce the size of their tumours, suggests a randomised trial published online today by The Lancet Oncology.
Five-year data from a study evaluating the use of docetaxel (Taxotere) administered after cisplatin/etoposide chemotherapy plus radiation therapy demonstrate the best long-term survival rates reported in patients with locally advanced (Stage IIIB) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumor cells contain extra copies of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene may be more likely to respond to the drug gefitinib (Iressa), and this high gene copy number may be an effective predictor of gefitinib efficacy, according to a new study in the May 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia have identified a subset of ovarian cancer patients who appear to respond better than others to gefitinib, or Iressa. The research was presented today at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Anaheim, Calif.
Researchers have closed a randomized clinical trial comparing gefitinib (Iressa) vs. placebo following chemotherapy and radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread only to nearby tissues or lymph nodes. Review of interim data indicated that gefitinib would not improve survival.
Lung cancer patients who have never smoked are more likely than smokers to harbor one of two genetic mutations that researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have now linked to the disease.
Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) have found an explanation for why some lung cancers stop responding to the drugs erlotinib (Tarceva) and gefitinib (Iressa).
New and effective treatments for lung cancer may rest on their ability to hinder the action of estrogen in lung cancer cells, according to two studies published in the current issue of Cancer Research.
50,000 people or 10% of the 500,000 people in the U.S with cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or hepatitis C will be eligible for a Medicare drug lottery for coverage of life saving drugs.
A new study has found a possible mechanism for tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer and provides evidence that another cancer drug--gefitinib (Iressa)--may be able to restore tamoxifen's anticancer activity.