Pfizer: Drug is Successful Against Rare Pancreatic Cancer

A Pfizer Inc. cancer drug more than doubles the time patients can survive progression-free with a rare but deadly form of pancreatic cancer, company officials said.

Sutent, which in generic form is called sunitinib, already is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat advance renal cell carcinoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumors in patients who cannot receive treatment with Gleevec, the Novartis AG cancer drug.

Sutent underwent a late-stage clinical trial to compare the drug to standard cancer treatment and inactive placebo in the treatment of pancreatic islet cell tumors. The trial was halted in March after researchers determined it effectively stopped the spread of the cancer.

Final results from the study released today indicate that patients treated with Sutent remained progression-free from the cancer for 11.1 months, compared to just 5.5 months among patients treated with placebos.

Between two million and four million people are diagnosed each year with pancreatic islet cell tumors, also called pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Still, there currently are limited treatment options, Pfizer said.

All patients in the clinical trial had tumors that advanced in the last year.

Common side effects of Sutent include low white blood cell count, high blood pressure, abdominal pain, diarrhea, low blood sugar, and hand-foot syndrome, a condition in which small amounts of the drug leak out of the blood vessels in the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands, causing reddened skin, tenderness, and peeling of the skin.

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