Sanofi Aventis reveals benefits of non small cell lung cancer drug

Sanofi-Aventis has unveiled new data regarding its Taxotere drug for patients with advanced non-small cell cancer (NSCLC) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.

Europe’s second largest pharmaceutical company found that patients who used Taxotere, either on its own or with vinca-alkaloids, demonstrated better overall survival and less febrile neutropenia – a type blood disorder that weakens the immune system – than those using vinca-alkaloids alone.

It found that while febrile neutropenia, characterised by a decrease in the number of a type of white blood cells that fight infections, was still a common adverse side effect with Taxotere, it was “significantly less frequent” than in patients using vinca-alkaloid treatments alone.

Jean-Yves Douillard, professor and head of the department of oncology at the Centre R Gauducheau in Saint Herblain, France, remarked: “This is the first meta-analysis that demonstrated significant benefits in both survival and in toxicity for patients receiving Taxotere-based chemotherapy compared to vinca alkaloid-based regimen in first-line advanced NSCLC.

The most common type of NSCLC is squamous cell-cancer, which affects the lining of the lungs’ airways. It is often due to smoking and the incidence of the disease in the UK is decreasing, according to Cancer Research UK.

Other types include adenocarcinoma, a mucus-producing lung cancer increasing in incidence, and large cell carcinoma, which tends to grow quickly, according to the research charity.

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