JANUARY 13, 1998
CONTACT:
DEBORAH PETTIBONE
716-845-8593
[email protected]
FDA APPROVES ROSWELL PARK DISCOVERY
FOR TREATMENT OF LUNG CANCER
BUFFALO, NY - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Photofrin(r), a light activated drug used in Photodynamic Therapy, for treatment of patients with early-stage lung cancer. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), the use of certain drugs and light to fight cancer, and Photofrin(r) were pioneered at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, by Dr. Thomas Dougherty and colleagues.
This new treatment is an option for people whose lung cancer is diagnosed at an early-stage, but who are not eligible for surgery and radiotherapy. "In clinical trials, approximately three quarters of the patients had a complete response following treatment and about half of them are cancer-free in long-term follow-up," said Stephen Lam, MD, head of the bronchoscopy program at British Columbia Cancer Agency of Vancouver, Canada, and a clinical trial investigator. Roswell Park Cancer Institute holds the patents on Photofrin(r) and QLT PhotoTherapeutics, Inc., a Canadian biotechnology company, has exclusive license to the patent.
"This is the very first approval for this new therapy in North America for which the intention is to cure the patient. Some patients in the trial are still free of disease 10 years after PDT treatment," said Thomas J. Dougherty, PhD, Chief of the Department of Radiation Biology/Photodynamic Therapy, at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. "This is particularly significant, since it is now possible to detect early stage lung cancer much more successfully than has been the case in the past. Roswell Park is planning to combine early detection and appropriate treatment with PDT as a new option for lung cancer patients available through the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Division of Surgery under Drs. John Urschel and Timothy Anderson, and the Division of Medicine under Dr. Gregory Loewen."
When cancer is treated with PDT, Photofrin(r) is injected into a patient intravenously. Photofrin(r) concentrates in the tumor cells. After a short period of time, the drug is activated by a laser light delivered fiberoptically to the tumor, producing a toxic form of oxygen that destroys the cancer cells. Necrotic tissue and exudate are removed two days later through a bronchoscope. Principal side effects include skin sensitivity to light for four to six weeks, and some patients experience inflammation at the treatment site causing varying degrees of shortness of breath and coughing. Photodynamic therapy is typically done on an outpatient basis.
According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for the 178,000 Americans diagnosed with lung cancer every year is 14 percent.
For further information call 1-716-845-4427.
Roswell Park Cancer Institute was founded in 1898, is the nation's first and one of its largest cancer research, treatment and education centers, and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Western New York.
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