Experimental combo helps stomach cancer patients

Combining the experimental oral drug S-1 with cisplatin improved chances of survival in patients with stomach cancer compared with patient treated with S-1 alone, French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis and Japan's Taiho Pharmaceutical said.

The risk of death was reduced by 22.6 percent in advanced gastric cancer patients who received the combination treatment in a phase III Japanese study, the companies said. The findings were released Sunday at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

The study, called Spirit, involved 305 patients who received either oral S-1 twice daily for 28 days, followed by a 14-day rest period, or oral S-1 twice daily for 21 days plus cisplatin on the eighth day of treatment, followed by the 14-day rest period.

The overall survival rate after 2 years was 13 months for patients who received the combination treatment compared with 11 months for those who received S-1 alone.

The overall response rate was also better, at 54 percent of patient who received the combination responding to treatment compared with 31.1 percent in the S-1 only group.

"This study demonstrates that the combination of S-1 and cisplatin brings to the patient with advance gastric cancer an acceptable benefit/risk ratio," said study investigator Dr. Hiroyuki Narahara.

Stomach cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the world, with more than 700,000 deaths a year.

S-1 is already prescribed in Japan to treat stomach, colorectal, head and neck, non-small cell lung, advanced breast and pancreatic cancers. It is in the final stages of experimental trials in the United States and Europe.

Taiho sells S-1 in Japan and several other Asian countries, while Sanofi is developing the drug in Europe and the United States.

source : news.yahoo.com