Pharmaceuticals firm Roche has been granted EU-wide approval for the use of a platinum agent in combination with its anti-cancer drug Xeloda (capecitabine).

The drug could be an effective and cost-efficient substitute for intravenous cytotoxic chemotherapy treatment for patients with advanced breast cancer, according to a report paper published by the Annals of Oncology.

Among the benefits of the drug is the extension of the lifespan of sufferers, the report claims.

Furthermore, the report's authors say capecitabine also improves the quality of life of women with breast cancer since it eliminates the need to travel to clinics for their treatment, meaning they can spend more time with their families, and causes less hair loss than chemotherapies.

Professor Michael Findlay of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, said: "Traditionally, oncologists have favoured intravenous chemotherapy as they have had more confidence in efficacy with its minimal bioavailability and patient compliance problems and because intravenous chemotherapy had an established reimbursement framework.

"However, with the progressive evidence indicating particular oral chemotherapy drugs have equivalent or superior efficacy oncologists are increasingly integrating these drugs into their practice. Capecitabine particularly has established a place as an oral chemotherapy of choice in breast cancer both as a single agent and as a component of a drug combination."

Source:

Review Publication Confirms the Benefits of Highly Effective Oral Cancer Drug Xeloda(R) (capecitabine) Over Intravenous Chemotherapy in Advanced Breast Cancer, 20/11/07
http://www.boursonews.com/confirms_the_104204_news-bourse.html

http://www.xeloda.com/

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