USFDA approves Iressa for first-line treatment of metastatic lung cancer
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) today approved Iressa (gefitinib) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors harbor specific types of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations, as detected by an FDA-approved test.
Iressa is a kinase inhibitor that blocks proteins that promote the development of cancerous cells with certain EGFR mutations. It is intended for the treatment of patients whose tumors express the most common types of EGFR mutations in NSCLC (exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R substitution gene mutations). Thetherascreen EGFR RGQ PCR Kit was approved as a companion diagnostic test to identify patients with tumors having the EGFR gene mutations in order to determine which patients would be appropriate for treatment with Iressa.
“Iressa offers another effective first-line therapy option for selected lung cancer patients. This approval provides further support for a highly targeted approach to treating cancer,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Iressa is a kinase inhibitor that blocks proteins that promote the development of cancerous cells with certain EGFR mutations. It is intended for the treatment of patients whose tumors express the most common types of EGFR mutations in NSCLC (exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R substitution gene mutations). Thetherascreen EGFR RGQ PCR Kit was approved as a companion diagnostic test to identify patients with tumors having the EGFR gene mutations in order to determine which patients would be appropriate for treatment with Iressa.
“Iressa offers another effective first-line therapy option for selected lung cancer patients. This approval provides further support for a highly targeted approach to treating cancer,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
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