Source: www.smartmoney.com
Author: Elena Berton

GlaxoSmithKline PLC said breast cancer pill Tyverb has shown encouraging results as a treatment for advanced head and neck cancer during a mid-stage trial.

The findings, presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, support GlaxoSmithKline’s confidence in the potential for Tyverb, marketed as Tykerb in the U.S., to be used beyond breast cancer, the U.K. drugmaker said.

Tyverb, known generically as lapatinib, works by inhibiting two proteins, EGRF and ErB2, which are linked to tumor growth. An increased abundance of EGRF has been reported in the majority of tumors, including head and neck, ovarian, bladder and lung.

“This is the first demonstration that EGRF-driven tumors are affected by our drug,” said Paolo Paoletti, who heads GlaxoSmithKline’s oncology research and development unit.

The phase-II study tested 107 previously untreated patients, who received either Tyverb or a dummy pill for a period of two to six weeks. After this initial treatment, all patients received standard treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

After two weeks, patients who were treated with Tyverb showed a modest, but statistically significant reduction in the proliferation of cancer cells, researchers found.

GlaxoSmithKline is recruiting patients for a large, late-stage study that will test Tyverb in combination with standard chemotherapy and radiation therapy as a treatment for advanced head and neck cancer.

Every year there are over 640,000 cases of head and neck cancer diagnosed worldwide, and over 350,000 deaths from the disease, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Launched in the U.S. in March 2007 and approved in the European Union in June 2008, Tyverb is used in combination with Roche Holding AG’s cancer drug Xeloda for the treatment of advanced breast cancer.