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| EMGARGOED FOR RELEASE Oct. 12, 2006, 9:15 a.m. PDT |
For more information, please contact the ATA at thyroid@thyroid.org. |
Chemotherapy Drug Stops Cancer Growth
in Advanced Thyroid Cancer Patients
(PHOENIX)—Bortezomib stops cancer growth in patients with advanced differentiated thyroid cancer who do not respond to the standard treatment of surgery and radioactive iodine, according to a new study being presented on Thursday, Oct. 12, at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in Phoenix.
“This is encouraging news for advanced thyroid cancer patients, given that there is currently no effective chemotherapy treatment for people with advanced thyroid cancer who don't respond to radioactive iodine,” said Steven I. Sherman, MD, a director on the ATA Executive Council, head of the National Thyroid Cancer Treatment Cooperative Study Group, and chair of endocrinology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Bortezomib (Velcade®) is the first in a new class of drugs, called proteasome inhibitors, that blocks the action of proteasomes — cellular complexes that break down proteins — stop cancer growth. It has been approved in the treatment of multiple myeloma.
Papillary and follicular carcinomas are considered differentiated carcinomas, and patients with these tumors are often treated similarly. Papillary is the most common type of thyroid cancer (70% to 80% of thyroid cancers) and can occur at any age. Follicular thyroid cancer (10 to 15% of cancers) tends to occur in somewhat older patients than papillary cancer.
In this first stage of this multicenter phase II study, twelve patients with advanced differentiated thyroid cancer used bortezomib in three-week cycles and were evaluated every six weeks. Findings show that cancer growth stopped in seven (58%) of these patients after a minimum of four treatment cycles. The first study patient's cancer had steadily progressed for five years prior to the treatment, but the cancer has not grown since the patient has been on the drug for more than one year.
“This study shows that there are more drugs becoming available that may be able to slow down the progression of cancer, if not shrink the tumors,” added Dr. Sherman, who is the principal investigator of this study funded by the National Cancer Institute. “Hopefully we are entering a new era of effective chemotherapy with new biologic agents in thyroid cancer.”
For more information on thyroid cancer, visit the ATA web site at www.thyroid.org.
The newest research in mechanisms, diagnosis, and clinical management of thyroid disease will be the focus of the ATA Annual Meeting, Oct. 11–15, 2006, at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa in Phoenix. The meeting will bring together thyroid experts from the United States and around the world.
The ATA is the North American professional society for physicians and researchers specializing in diseases of the thyroid gland. The ATA promotes excellence and innovation in clinical care, research, education, and public advocacy.
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