A study looking at the effectiveness of the drug figitumumab in treating late-stage lung cancer has been stopped by the manufacturer, Pfizer Inc.
Late-stage lung cancer is difficult to treat and researchers are continuously looking for different drug combinations that could help increase the survival rate of the 
disease. This particular study looked at figitumumab in combination with two other chemotherapy agents, paclitaxel and carboplatin. The researchers were comparing the three-drug combination to paclitaxel plus carboplatin alone.
In October 2009, Pfizer stopped patient recruitment into the study. Independent monitors had found disturbing outcomes, serious adverse events including deaths, among patients who had been receiving figitumumab.
Although the study’s discontinuation is a disappointment for those who had high hopes for this treatment, not all is lost when a study is stopped. Valuable data had been collected over the course of the study and the researchers may be able to glean information from the data that could be helpful in future studies.
Other pharmaceutical companies are continuing to look at using figitumumab for other cancers, because it is possible that although it was not acceptable for late-stage lung cancer, it may be a good treatment for another type.
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Image: MorgueFile.com
Post from: Blisstree