results for pertuzumab in prostate cancer patients

[Lani]

it is another multiher family monoclonal antibody from Genentech I believe

All it takes is FDA approval for one type of cancer to allow off-label usage...

Pertuzumab Extends Survival for Some Prostate Cancer Patients

By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 28 - Pertuzumab, an inhibitor of human epidermal growth factor dimerization, extends survival in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) that progresses on taxane-based chemotherapy, according to a report in the February 20th Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"Targeted therapy is exciting and offers significant promise," Dr. David B. Agus from Cedars-Sinai Prostate Cancer Center, Los Angeles, California told Reuters Health.

Based on promising results from early clinical observations, Dr. Agus and associates assessed the efficacy and safety of pertuzumab in a phase II clinical trial of 41 men with CRPC who had experienced progression after taxane-based chemotherapy.

None of the men experienced partial or complete responses, the authors report, although 5 of 30 evaluable patients had stable disease lasting beyond 23 weeks, 1 had stable disease lasting 36 weeks, and 4 had stable disease for less than 12 weeks.

Compared with a median survival time of 10.7 months among historical controls, the researchers note that the median survival time of this population was not reached within 16.4 months.

Twelve-month survival among study patients was 74%, the report indicates, compared with an expected probability of survival at 12 months of 44% among historical controls.

Pertuzumab was well tolerated, the investigators say. Diarrhea, which was seen in 61% of patients, was the most frequent treatment-related adverse event, and 11 of 38 patients (26.8%) experienced a reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction of at least 10%.

Summing up, Dr. Agus added that "molecular targeted therapy is evolving in the clinical management of patients with cancer. The challenge will be identifying the individual patients who benefit from this type of therapy."

J Clin Oncol 2007;25:675-681.