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De: PR Newswire Brasil
Para: THERESA
CATHARINA DE GÓES CAMPOS
Assunto: 90% of Cancer Patients Completely
Unaware of New Breakthrough Cancer Therapy Which
Medical Experts Believe Could Reduce Cancer to a
Chronic Disease
27 de março de 2006 10:22 HORALOCAL
90% of Cancer Patients Completely Unaware of New
Breakthrough
Cancer Therapy Which Medical Experts Believe
Could Reduce Cancer to a
Chronic Disease
Knowledge Gap of Concern to Both Physicians and
Patient Groups
ZURICH, Switzerland, March 27 /PRNewswire/ --
Nine out of ten
patients battling cancer in Europe have never
heard of a major
breakthrough in cancer treatment, known as
anti-angiogenesis,
according to a new survey released today. Yet,
70% of cancer
specialists who took part in the survey believe
that patients and
their carers should know more about
anti-angiogenic treatment as it
marks the dawn of a new era in cancer treatment.
In fact, half of the
cancer specialists surveyed even believed that
the use of
anti-angiogenic therapy could lead to cancer
becoming a treatable
illness people can live with, not the death
sentence it so often is.
Anti-angiogenic therapy is a novel new therapy
that works by starving
the tumour of its blood supply to stop its
growth. The first
anti-angiogenic therapy, Avastin(R) (bevacizumab),
was launched a
year ago for the treatment of advanced
colorectal cancer, and is the
only anti-angiogenic agent that has consistently
demonstrated
survival benefit in the three most common tumour
types: colorectal
cancer, breast cancer and non-small cell lung
cancer (NSCLC).
Professor Nick Thatcher, Professor of Oncology,
University of
Manchester, Christie Hospital, UK, said: "We are
entering a new era
in the treatment of cancer with the advent of
innovative new cancer
therapies and it's important that patients and
their medical advisors
understand the potential of these new treatments
to extend life."
The survey was conducted amongst 500 cancer
specialists and patients
in the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Germany. It
revealed that patient
awareness of new cancer treatments is low: 40
percent admitted to
feeling completely uninformed about advances in
technology which
might help them overcome their disease. This
knowledge gap is
concerning to both patient groups and physicians,
who feel it is
important that cancer patients are up-to-date on
the latest
technologies that may help them in their fight
against the disease.
Dr. Jesme Baird, director of patient care at The
Roy Castle Lung
Foundation, part of the Global Lung Cancer
Coalition, commented:
"Statistics like these expose a major
information gap between cancer
patients and physicians regarding new advances
in treatment, yet we
know that people fighting cancer go through so
much emotionally that
they need to be able to believe in the future.
The dialogue between
patient and physician is critical in order to
make an informed
decision."
Access: Call for better care
The survey also showed that a majority of cancer
specialists believe
that access to new cancer therapies should be
widened, particularly
in light of physician and patient
dissatisfaction with traditional
chemotherapy agents.
"It is essential that we work with health
authorities and regulators
to ensure better access to these innovative new
treatments," says Dr.
Jesme Baird. "Cancer patients depend so much
upon the development of
new technology to offer hope of a better future,
and we want them to
live long enough to enjoy it. That means that
new treatments must be
made available to those who need it."
A recent report published by the Karolinska
Institutet, in
conjunction with the Stockholm School of
Economics, exposed stark
inequalities in patient access to cancer
treatment across Europe.
This research, titled "A pan-European comparison
regarding patient
access to cancer drugs," found that despite the
proven benefits of
new innovative treatments options, the speed at
which patients can
benefit from them depends to a great extent upon
the country in which
they live. The attitudinal findings in this
survey support the
Karolinska report results, further highlighting
the physician and
patient call to action to amend access
guidelines.
Notes to Editors:
Survey highlights
-- The survey questioned 500 cancer specialists
and patients across
the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Germany and was
sponsored by Roche,
-- Information about treatment
-- Two out of five cancer patients were not even
sure what treatment
they were currently receiving;
-- A third of patients said they would not
actively seek additional
treatment information following diagnosis.
-- Expectations from treatment in general and
anti-angiogenic
therapy specifically
-- 70 percent of physicians are dissatisfied
with traditional
chemotherapy drugs;
-- A majority of patients surveyed wished that
their current
treatment regimen helped them live longer
without compromising their
quality of life to as great a degree;
-- Only 11 percent of patients felt confident
that their treatment
would enable them to overcome their disease when
they were first
diagnosed; yet 100 percent of patients with
advanced cancer being
treated with anti-angiogenic therapy are
optimistic about its
potential benefits;
-- 60 percent of patients expected advances in
treatment to
transform cancer from an acute to a chronic
condition within the next
three to five years;
-- A large proportion of physicians surveyed
believed that the
widespread use of anti-angiogenesis therapy
would result in cancer
becoming a chronic condition -- with which the
patient could live;
-- A vast majority of physician respondents --
82 percent -- firmly
believed anti-angiogenic therapy could be
effective in the adjuvant
setting, in other words after surgery to enhance
the benefits of
chemotherapy. However, realising this
expectation was likely to
depend upon patient access to new therapies.
About Avastin
Avastin is the first treatment that inhibits
angiogenesis -- the
growth of a network of blood vessels that supply
nutrients and oxygen
to cancerous tissues. Avastin targets a
naturally occurring protein
called VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor),
a key mediator of
angiogenesis, thus choking off the blood supply
that is essential for
the growth of the tumour and its spread
throughout the body
(metastasis).
In Europe, Avastin is approved for first-line
treatment of patients
with metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum
in combination with
the chemotherapy regimens of intravenous 5-fluorouracil/folinic
acid
or intravenous 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid/irinotecan.
Avastin
received fast-track approval by the US Food and
Drug Administration
(FDA) and was launched in the US in February
2004.
In the pivotal Phase III study, the addition of
Avastin to
chemotherapy (irinotecan/5-fluorouracil/leucovorin)
significantly
extended survival by, on average, five months
(20.3 months versus
15.6 months) for people with previously
untreated metastatic
colorectal cancer. Avastin also significantly
increased the amount of
time the cancer was not growing compared with
patients receiving
chemotherapy alone (10.6 months vs. 6.2 months).
In a second Phase
III study, conducted by the Eastern Cooperative
Oncology Group (ECOG),
Avastin was also shown to significantly improve
survival when added
to another widely prescribed chemotherapy
regimen
(oxaliplatin/5-fluorouracil/leucovorin). With
Avastin, people who had
previously failed one chemotherapy regimen for
their advanced
disease, lived nearly two months longer, on
average, compared to those
who received chemotherapy alone (12.5 months vs.
10.7 months).
People with very advanced colorectal cancer who
are too ill to
tolerate traditional aggressive chemotherapy
also benefit from
Avastin. The addition of Avastin to a less
aggressive form of
chemotherapy increased the length of time the
cancer was not growing,
by four months, compared to chemotherapy alone
(a 67 percent increase
in progression-free survival).
Roche and Genentech are pursuing a comprehensive
clinical programme
investigating the use of Avastin in advanced
colorectal cancer with
other chemotherapies and also expanding into the
adjuvant setting
(post operation). As its mechanism is highly
relevant in a number of
malignant tumours, Roche and Genentech are also
investigating the
potential clinical benefit of Avastin in breast,
lung, pancreatic
cancer, ovarian cancer, renal cell carcinoma and
others.
Approximately 15,000 patients are expected to be
enrolled into
clinical trials over the next years worldwide.
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is
one of the world's
leading research-focused healthcare groups in
the fields of
pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As a supplier
of innovative products
and services for the early detection,
prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of disease, the Group contributes on a
broad range of
fronts to improving people's health and quality
of life. Roche is a
world leader in diagnostics, the leading
supplier of medicines for
cancer and transplantation and a market leader
in virology. In 2005
sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled
27.3 billion Swiss
francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted
sales of 8.2 billion
Swiss francs. Roche employs roughly 70,000
people in 150 countries and
has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with
numerous partners,
including majority ownership interests in
Genentech and Chugai.
Additional information about the Roche Group is
available on the
Internet (http://www.roche.com).
All trademarks used or mentioned in this release
are legally
protected.
SOURCE Roche
03/27/2006
CONTACT: Christine Hill of Roche, Tel:
+41-61-688-89-95, Mobile:
+41-79-788-82-45; or Ann Blumenstock of Resolute
Communications, Tel:
+44-20-7397-7484, Mobile: +44-7788-543537, for
Roche
Web site: http://www.roche.com
BNED: NG
FONTE: PR NEWSWIRE LATIN AMERICA
CORAL GABLES - MIAMI-US
CONTATOS: USA-MARY D'LEON
BRASIL-NÉLIA GARCIA
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E-MAILS: nelia_garcia@prnewswire.com.br
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PALAVRA-CHAVE: RJ
PALAVRA-CHAVE/RAMO DE ATIVIDADE: INDÚSTRIA
FARMACÊUTICA
PALAVRA-CHAVE/EMPRESA: ROCHE
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