Velcade Tops Standard Blood Cancer Treatment-Study

The time to disease progression and overall survival data were significantly better in the 327 patients receiving Velcade (bortezomib) than the 330 patients receiving dexamethasone, a current standard treatment.

The time by which symptoms worsened was 5.7 months for patients receiving Velcade, compared with 3.6 months. Also, 13 patients receiving Velcade died during the study compared with 24 receiving dexamethasone, the study said.

Dr. Paul Richardson of the Dana-Farber Cancer institute was the lead author of the study presented at the 40th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (news - web sites), held in New Orleans.

This is the first time researchers presented data from the study, but the company had announced last month that the trial was halted because Velcade met its objectives in increasing survival rates.

The drug was also found to be less toxic than dexamethasone, the study said.

Velcade had received expedited U.S. marketing approval in 2003 as a multiple myeloma treatment based on Phase II data presented last year. The drug is under study for treating non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, melanoma and metastatic breast cancer.

The study has the potential to help broaden the labeling of the Velcade and allow the drug to be used to treat about 50 percent of cases of multiple myeloma from 25 percent, said Dr. David Schenkein, vice president of clinical oncology development at Millennium.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. The cells grow uncontrollably in the bone marrow and occasionally other parts of the body. This suppresses development of normal white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

Velcade inhibits the proteosome, an enzyme complex that exists in all cells, by shutting off the supply of proteins cancer cells need to survive.

Richardson said in a statement that the data is likely to result in earlier use of Velcade in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma, but further analysis of the results will be necessary.