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According to results of the PALETTE trial, treatment with pazopanibincreased progression-free survival (PFS) almost three fold amongpatients with metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma whose disease hadprogressed following chemotherapy. The results are published OnlineFirst in The Lancet. In the United States, an estimated 11,000 individuals are diagnosedwith soft-tissue sarcomas each year - accounting for just 1% of all adult cancers . However, progress in developing new effective treatments for thedisease has been slow during the last three decades. Median overallsurvival is approximately 12 months for patients with advancedstages of the disease. Pazopanib has been approved for the treatment of kidney cancer . The drug targets platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGF)and all three vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptorsthat play a role in growing new blood vessels (angiogenesis). In the PALETTE study, 369 patients with metastatic soft-tissuesarcoma whose disease had progressed after chemotherapy wereenrolled from 72 institutions across 13 countries to participate inthe study. Individuals with liposarcomas and gastro-intestinalstromal tumors (GIST) were not included in the study. The study was conducted by Winette van der Graaf from RadboudUniversity Nijmegen Medical Center, Netherlands and colleagues fromthe European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer SoftTissue and Bone Sarcoma Group, and other cancer centers worldwide. The researchers randomly assigned 246 patients to receive oralpazopanib and 123 to receive placebo. At a median follow-up of 15months, the team found that PFS improved by 3 months forparticipants receiving pazopanib (4-6 months) vs. 1.6 months forpatients given placebo. However, overall survival between the twogroups was not significantly different - 12.5 months in thepazopanib group vs. 10.7 in the placebo group. Adverse effects of pazopanib included: weight loss hypertension diarrhea fatigue nausea cardiotoxicity pneumothorax thromboembolic events 34 (14%) patients stopped taking pazopanib due to toxic effectsassociated to the drug. Of the 8 deaths in the pazopanib group, onewas due to multi-organ failure that may have been associated to thedrug. Between the two groups, self-reported quality of life did notdiffer considerably. However, the team found that fatigue, nauseaand diarrhea were significantly worse among patients in thepazopanib group. The researchers conclude: "Progression-free survival improved in patients of all ages and formost histological subgroups. Pazopanib is the first active oralagent for patients with soft-tissue sarcomas, excludingliposarcomas and GIST, and is a new treatment option for patientswith this rare group of tumors." In an associated comment, Vivien Bramwell from the Tom Baker CancerCenter, Calgary, Canada, explained: "This was a well-designed and conducted study, that showed a 3month improvement in the primary outcome of progression-freesurvival. [But] the desired effect of palliative chemotherapy isthat tumor shrinkage or delay of progression will improve patients'activity or well-being, but this effect was not definitively shown. The investigators conclude that pazopanib provides a new treatmentoption, and there will be demand for it, but will funding agenciesbe willing to, or able to, pay?" Written By Grace Rattue Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Additional References Citations. I am an expert from rexleds.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Led Streetlights , SMD LED Strip Light, LED Panel Light,and more.
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