Pfizer's Breast Cancer Drug Palbociclib could Change Treatment Options

First Posted: Apr 07, 2014 10:37 AM EDT
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The experimental breast cancer drug, palbociclib, has shown promise for the future treatment of breast cancer, according to the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

"Critical to moving a new drug into cancer medicine is identifying a population that might respond. We know we might have the best drug, but if we don't get it to the right people, you might not see benefit," said Richard S. Finn, MD, associate professor of medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, said during a press conference, via Healio.com. "We identified a subpopulation of breast cancer patients - hormone receptor-positive, HER-2-negative breast cancer patients - who are most likely to benefit."

A clinical trial of the drug showed that it cut cancer risk in half. In fact, the median time before the disease progressed or the woman died was 20.2 months for those who received the product, compared to 10.2 months for those in the control group.

"The magnitude of benefit we are seeing is not something commonly seen in cancer medicine studies," said Dr. Richard S. Finn, a principal investigator in the study,in an interview, according to The Boston Globe. Finn, an oncologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, called the results "quite groundbreaking."

Researchers note that drug also appeared to prolong survival for some patients, but not by a significant amount of time. For instance, the median survival for those on the drug was 37.5 months compared to those in the control group, at 33.3 months.

Palbociclib works by slowing down the runway proliferation of cancer cells that inhibit the activity of two related enzymes involved in cell division.

Though the overall findings are positive, some health officials believe that further studies are needed in order to confirm the drug's potential.

"This is a small Phase 2 trial-not tiny, but not the kind of study that would typically lead to a chance in practice," said Dr. Eric P. Winer, chief of women's cancers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, via the news organization. 

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