Stivarga against liver cancer

Patients suffering from liver cancer have a new treatment option

Anna Stavina, XX2 century

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) The United States has expanded the list of indications for the use of the drug regorafenib (regorafenib), the trade name is Stirvaga (Stivarga). Now this drug can be prescribed to patients who suffer from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and have previously received therapy with sorafenib (sorafenib), the trade name is Nexavar.

Over the past almost 10 years, regorafenib has become the first drug for the treatment of HCC approved by the FDA (FDA expands approved use of Stivarga to treat liver cancer).

"There are few treatment options available to patients suffering from liver cancer," Dr. Richard Pazdur, acting director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products Division of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research of the FDA, said in a statement. HCC will be able to receive FDA-approved therapy prescribed in cases where the tumor has stopped responding to treatment with sorafenib."

Regorafenib belongs to the group of multikinase inhibitors intended for oral use. The drug has demonstrated antiangiogenic activity – it prevents the tumor from growing its own blood vessels and thus slows down its growth. Regorafenib has already been approved as a drug for the treatment of metastatic bowel cancer and the treatment of inoperable gastrointestinal stromal tumors that have stopped responding to therapy with imatinib (imatinib), trade name – Gleevec (Gleevec) and sunitinib (sunitinib), trade name – Sutent (Sutent).

Results of clinical trials of regorafenib

Permission to use regorafenib in patients with HCC was granted after receiving the results of clinical trials of the drug. The study involved 573 patients with progressive disease who had previously been treated with sorafenib.

The median survival in the regorafenib group was 10.6 months, while in the placebo group, this indicator was 7.8 months. This means that regorafenib significantly reduces the risk of death. The duration of the disease progression-free period in those taking regorafenib was also longer than in those who drank placebo: 3.1 and 1.5 months, respectively.

Control of the disease was achieved in 65.2% of participants from the regorafenib group and only in 36.1% from the placebo group. A complete or partial response to treatment was observed in 10.6% of those taking the drug and in 4.1% of those receiving a placebo. Side effects were noted in 79.7% and 58.5% of cases, respectively. The most common adverse events were arterial hypertension, reactions from the skin of the feet and palms, increased fatigue and diarrhea.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  28.04.2017