Saturday, November 28, 2020

Oncology Drug Approved that Targets a Key Genetic Driver of Cancer


 As of 2018, the FDA has approved an oncology drug treatment called Vitrakvi that treats patients with cancers that have biomarkers (specific genetic features). Instead of targeting the location of where the tumor originated, Vitrakvi targets common biomarkers in various types of tumors, making it a "tissue agnostic" cancer drug (FDA, 2018). The drug is intended to treat patients with solid tumors that have NTRK gene fusion (neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase) without a mutation or are metastatic. The good news of the drug is that it is not cancer-specific as it must use biomarkers to guide drug development to target the disease. New data supports a strong overall response rate of the drug at 78% (BioSpace, 2020). The drug has also shown long-term effectiveness as it has sustained long-term efficacy in a number of TRK (tropomyosin receptor kinase) fusion-positive cancers (PharmaTimes, 2020).


Sources/Links:

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-oncology-drug-targets-key-genetic-driver-cancer-rather-specific-type-tumor

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/new-data-support-strong-clinical-profile-of-vitrakvi-larotrectinib-for-adult-and-pediatric-patients-with-trk-fusion-cancer-including-lung-and-thyroid-tumors/

http://www.pharmatimes.com/news/bayers_vitrakvi_shows_long-term_efficacy_in_trk_fusion-positive_cancers_1350760

2 comments:

  1. Hi Bernice,
    I think that that is great drug to have. Being able to minimize the amount of cancer cases per year should be the worlds number one goal, as it takes away loved ones daily. There are many methods that researchers can study that would eliminate cancer cells, whether it's directly or indirectly. But, I feel like with studies and positive out comes like these, we should be on our way to finding a cure or a preventable method soon.

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  2. hi! I think this drug Is super important to have, especially that the drug is not cancer specific. We all know someone who has been affected by cancer, such an awful disease. Taking one step at a time towards a cure is a goal researchers will reach some day!

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