A new test, developed at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, helps reduces the risk of death by 36 percent in advanced lung cancer by identifying a biomarker known as the EGFR protein.
In a press release, Professor Fred R. Hirsch of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, co-developer of the test, said, "We are moving from a one-size-fits-all model to more personalized medicine in lung cancer. This is a completely new paradigm in treating cancer."
Hirsch, Wilbur Franklin, MD., and colleagues, developed the test in 2003, by creating a scoring system to identify patients who had the highest levels of a protein known as Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). The scoring system ranges from 0 to 400, and patients with a score above 200 had a better prognosis.
Known as the FLEX-study, the clinical trial was held in Europe and involved 1,125 advanced lung cancer patients. The patients were put into two groups; one received standard chemotherapy, the other received chemotherapy and a drug called cetuximab. The group who received cetuximab had 36 percent reduction in deaths.
Cetuximab, also known as Erbitux, is an antibody that inhibits lung cancer cells by attaching to the EGFR receptors. It has already been used to fight colo-rectal, head and neck cancers.
Hirsch also stated in the press release, "With this personalized medicine we can identify subgroups of patients that can get better effects from certain drugs. In some cases there is a potential for a cure. Right now the cure rate for advanced lung cancer is two to three percent at best. This is a huge improvement but everything is based on the selection criteria."
Hirsch discussed the study results at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Conference two weeks ago, where the results were announced.
The CU School of Medicine leads the world in cancer research.
The abnormality known as the ALK gene rearrangement, occuring in three to five percent of lung cancer patients, is effectively treated with a drug developed, in part, by D. Ross Camidge, MD, Ph.D., clinical director of the Thoracic Oncology Program and an investigator for the Cancer Center.
Hirsch is presently leading a similar clinical trial, like the one conducted in Europe, with colleagues of the Southwest Oncology Group. 1500 total participants are expected; there are 550 to date.
Hirsch's lab specializes in finding customized treatments for individual patients by identifying biomarkers in order to predict which drugs and therapies will be most effective.
The European trial results will be published in The Lancet Oncology.
The only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Colorado, the University of Colorado Cancer Center is headquartered on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The Center is comprised of three state universities and six institutions: Colorado State University, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado Denver, Children's Hospital Colorado, Denver Health, Denver VA Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, National Jewish Health, and University of Colorado Hospital.
The Center's work focuses on discovering, developing, delivering breakthroughs in diagnosis, the treatments and the prevention of cancer.
attribution: UC-Denver press release.
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