The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just recently approved a new drug for thyroid cancer treatment.
In its press release in the website on Friday, February 13, the FDA has issued an okay to Lenvima (lenvatinib) developed by Esai Company Limited of Japan through a priority review. This process allows the agency to review and approve drugs before its scheduled review date if it sees that the company has proven its effectiveness or if the drug's use in the market is immediate. Lenvima's review date is supposed to be in April.
The drug, which will be distributed by Esai's U.S. office located in Woodcliff Lake in New Jersey, is intended for thyroid cancer patients with differentiated cancer (DTC). DTC is considered to be less progressive since the cancerous cells are more matured. These patients, moreover, have already been treated with radioactive iodine therapy with little success. This therapy involves infusing iodine with radioactive components to attack the cells in a local area.
More than 390 patients with progressive DTC who didn't respond well to radioactive iodine therapy participated in the clinical trial. Some received a placebo while others had Lenvima. Those who received the latter lived for one and a half years without any disease progression compared to less than 4 months when in the placebo. More than 60% of patients who received the drug also experienced a significant tumor size reduction. Eventually those who received the plabo were provided with the drug when their disease worsened.
The drug works by preventing certain proteins from causing cancer cells to divide and grow.
In the country, at least 62,000 have thyroid cancer. More than 1,800 died in 2014. When caught early, most types of thyroid cancers have an excellent 5-year survival rate of almost 100%. Proper treatment can also increase the median-year survival of patients to at least 50% even in stage 4.
