Sutent Receives FDA Consent as Pancreatic Cancer Cure
by Gina Kolite in Diseases on Jul 07, 2011
The approval of a Pfizer drug that can treat those patients having a rare form of pancreatic cancer has been expanded. This was done by the Food and Drug Administration in order save people from having pancreatic tumors
According to the FDA, it has already cleared Sutent in treating cancerous tumors of the pancreas which cannot be removed by surgery or have already spread to other parts of the body. The agency also estimated that for such kind of tumors which are generally rare and slow-growing is affecting more or less than 1,000 US patients every year.
Being a pill-based pharmaceutical, Sutent operates as a blockage to molecules that activate the growth and spread of tumors. This drug was first cleared by FDA in 2006. Sutent is originally approved in treating the cancer of the kidneys as well as tumors for stomach, and esophagus. This can also treat stubborn bowels which do not behave well using other medications and treatments.
Moreover, FDA also approved Afinitor from Novartis to treat the same kind of disease.
After a study, FDA approved the drug-based treatment based on a data of 171 patients wherein those patients who had takenSutent survived for five months. This is longer compared to those who had only placebo in their treatment.
The agency noted some side effects of the drug, including diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, hypertension, nausea, lethargy, hair color changes and stomach pains.
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