THURSDAY, Oct. 27, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- The drug Iressa (gefitinib) doesn't significantly improve survival for people with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), says a study in this week's issue of The Lancet.
However, the study of 1,692 patients with chemotherapy-resistant disease in 28 countries did find the drug provided some benefit to those who never smoked and to patients of Asian origin.
The patients were divided into two groups -- 1,129 received Iressa and 563 received a placebo. Overall, survival did not differ significantly between the two groups, but the drug did seem to improve median survival by four months for patients of Asian origin and by 2.8 months for patients who'd never smoked.
"While the result is disappointing, in that gefitinib was not associated with a significant improvement in survival in a general population of NSCLC patients, there was an increase in survival in patients of Asian origin and in patients who never smoked," lead researcher Nick Thatcher, of Christie Hospital in Manchester, England, said in a prepared statement.
"We now need to find pragmatic ways of identifying which patients are more likely to benefit with these new treatments," Thatcher said.
Iressa was developed by drugmaker AstraZeneca as a treatment for lung cancer, but it has failed to meet expectations. The U.S. National Cancer Institute ended its Phase 3 clinical trials of the drug earlier this year because it did not prolong patients' lives.
However, Iressa has shown some promise in treating women with early-stage breast cancer before surgery; a small trial recently found the drug shrunk tumors before their removal.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about non-small cell lung cancer treatment.
