The Minority Report

Looks like good news for pancreatic cancer sufferers.

Ready for some good news? Just now, Pfizer announced it was stopping Phase 3 trials of a new cancer treatment, Sutent, early – because it was working so well. Typically, stopping clinical trials of a drug early is bad news – your drug is hurting people, or it doesn’t work. Once in awhile, if a drug is working especially well, the trials are stopped early and the placebo group is allowed to switch to the trial drug. That’s what just happened here. The other good news? It was for pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is often hard to treat, because it often does not present many symptoms early on, so patients are often diagnosed very late.Molecule of the Day : Sutent/Sunitinib (Cheer up!)

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pfizer Inc announced today that a phase 3 clinical trial of Sutent (sunitinib malate) has been stopped early after the drug showed significant benefit in patients with advanced pancreatic islet cell tumors, also known as pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

An independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) recommended halting the trial after concluding that Sutent demonstrated greater progression-free survival compared to placebo plus best supportive care in patients with pancreatic islet cell tumors.

“We are delighted by these findings which demonstrate that Sutent provides a benefit for patients with advanced, well-differentiated pancreatic islet cell tumors — a rare cancer with limited treatment options,” said Dr. Mace Rothenberg, senior vice president of medical development and clinical affairs for Pfizer’s Oncology Business Unit. “These and previously reported phase 2 data contribute to the growing body of evidence indicating activity with sunitinib in patients with pancreatic islet cell tumors.”

Pfizer has notified clinical trial investigators involved in the trial and regulatory agencies of the DMC recommendations. All patients in the trial will have the option to continue taking Sutent or be switched from placebo to Sutent. The full data set from this trial is being analyzed and more details will be presented at an upcoming scientific meeting.

This phase III trial of sunitinib in patients with advanced pancreatic islet cell tumors was initiated based on the results of a earlier phase II trial published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology(July 2008). Sutent Significantly Increases Progression Free Survival for Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Islet Cell Tumors, Study Stopped Early