ORLANDO, Florida - An experimental drug by US pharmaceutical giant Pfeizer reduces tumor growth and doubled the life expectancy in a test group of patients suffering a certain type of stomach cancer, according to research released at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology conference here.
Research with the experimental drug Sutent, made public late Sunday, was carried out on 300 stomach cancer patients whose gastro-intestinal tumors were resistant to treatment by the drug Gleevec, made by rival pharmaceutical company Novartis.
The published research is also the final study before Pfeizer asks the federal regulators at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for permission to begin selling Sutent (sunitinib malate) to treat stomach cancer.
Pfeizer plans to submit their research to the FDA before the end of the year.
According to Pfeizer's study, Sutent delayed tumor growth for up to 6.3 months and increased patient survival by around 50 percent when compared to a control group being treated with a placebo.
Clinical trials have also shown positive results by Sutent in use with advanced cases of kidney cancer, breast cancer and neuroendocrine tumors, according to a Pfeizer statement.
Sutent works by blocking the formation of blood vessels that nourish the tumor, as well as blocking signals allowing cancer cells to reproduce.
05/16/2005 04:29 GMT