India accounts for 60% of head and neck cancer cases, numbers to double by 2030

Owing to increased use of tobacco, India contributes to nearly 60% of head and neck cancer— inside the mouth, the nose, and the throat — patients worldwide. The number is expected to double by 2030, health experts said on Saturday.
“Global contribution of head and neck cancer patients is 57.5% in India. Out of these 80,000 cases annually are cases of oral cancer,” said Kumar Prabhash from Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.
“Tobacco is one of the major cause behind these cases of head and neck cancers. And we are estimating the number of cases to double by 2030,” added Sumit Goyal from Department of Medical Oncology at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute in New Delhi.
In a clinical study, presented recently at the annual conference of American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), in Chicago, the experts led by Prabhash concluded that a molecule called Nimotuzumab along with chemo-radiotherapy might be a better and effective treatment against head and neck cancers. Nimotuzumab is the first indigenously produced novel biologic developed by Bengaluru-based biotech major Biocon and introduced in India as BIOMAb EGFR for head and neck cancer in 2006.
To examine its efficacy, the clinical study examined 536 locally advanced head and neck cancer patients aged between 18 to 80 years. The results showed that patients who were administered Nimotuzumab combined with cisplatin drug (used for chemotherapy) and radiation, survived almost three times more than those who received only chemo and radiation. It also reduced the risk of disease progression by 26%.
Biomab has a unique bivalent binding, because of which it binds primarily at the site of cancer cells where there is over expression of the EGFR protein. This is significant since this mechanism of action of Biomab ensures that only the cancerous cells are destroyed, unlike other targeted agents, ensuring that it does not cause additional toxicity, said Prabhash.
The clinical study proved that the introduction of this molecule, to the existing standard of care in patients of Head and Neck cancer, dramatically improved treatment outcomes on factors like progression-free survival, disease-free survival, duration of loco-regional control and overall survival, he added.
While no severe side effects were observed, it led to a mild increase in the level of mucositis — mouth inflammation that is considered a common effect after cancer treatment, he noted. While BIOMAb EGFR is currently approved for treatment of head and neck cancers in India, Cuba, Argentina, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ukraine, Peru, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, a number of clinical trials are being conducted worldwide to evaluate the efficacy of this molecule in various other indications also like lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer.
Source:https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/india-accounts-for-60-of-head-and-neck-cancer-cases-numbers-to-double-by-2030/story-1z1bgAWFJSXeP7yCoPNNdM.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EMA validates Incyte’s MAA for retifanlimab to treat metastatic squamous cell anal carcinoma

Incyte, global biopharmaceutical company, announced the validation of the Company’s Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for retifanlimab, an intravenous PD-1 inhibitor, as a potential treatment for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell anal carcinoma (SCAC) who have progressed on, or who are intolerant of, platinum-based chemotherapy. The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) validation of the MAA confirms that the submission is sufficiently complete to begin the formal review process. “While the incidence of SCAC is increasing in Europe, treatment options for advanced disease are limited in their effectiveness, and there are no approved options once patients have progressed on standard therapy,” said Lance Leopold, M.D., Group vice president, Immuno-Oncology Clinical Development, Incyte. “The EMA validation of the MAA for retifanlimab – which follows the recent US Food & Drug Administration acceptance of our Biologics License Application for Priority R...
Read more

Tumour-targeting drug paves way for bone cancer treatment

 The treatment of osteosarcoma, the most common tumour of bone, is challenging, but a new study is offering hope to the patients with this disease. The study led by The University of  Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre  found that a drug, known as bone metastasis-targeting peptidomimetic (BMTP-11), has potential as a new therapeutic strategy for this devastating illness. Results from the preclinical study looked at BMTP-11 alone and in combination with the chemotherapy agent gemcitabine. Although osteosarcoma is a relatively rare cancer, it is a leading disease-related cause of death in children and young adults ages 10 to 20. However, over the last 25 years, the five-year survival rate has remained unchanged, and the treatment options for these patients are few. In addition, the side effects of available treatment options often are significant and cumulative, and may cause other health problems and damage to major organs. "What's novel about this treatment is that...
Read more

Merck’s Keytruda plus platinum- and fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy receives US FDA nod to treat certain patients with locally advanced/metastatic esophageal or GEJ carcinoma

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Keytruda, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) (tumors with epicenter 1 to 5 centimeters above the GEJ) carcinoma that is not amenable to surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation in combination with platinum- and fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy. The approval is based on results from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-590 trial, which demonstrated significant improvements in overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR) for Keytruda plus fluorouracil (FU) and cisplatin versus FU and cisplatin alone, regardless of histology or PD-L1 expression status. For OS and PFS, Keytruda plus FU and cisplatin reduced the risk of death by 27% (HR=0.73 [95% CI, 0.62-0.86]; p<0.0001) and reduced the risk of disease progression or death...
Read more