Breast cancer incidence reduced after discontinuation of estrogen plus progestin
February 17th 2009Initial results of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study demonstrated an increased risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women treated with estrogen plus progestin. A new long-term analysis of this study published in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated that breast cancer incidence decreased markedly after WHI study participants discontinued hormone therapy.
Development of axitinib for pancreatic cancer discontinued
February 17th 2009Pfizer is discontinuing a phase 3 study of axitinib for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. An analysis by an independent data safety monitoring board demonstrated that there was no improvement in survival among patients treated with axitininb plus gemcitabine versus those treated with gemcitabine alone.
Prasugrel unanimously recommended for approval
February 4th 2009On February 3, the FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously recommended that prasugrel (Daiichi Sankyo/Lilly) should be approved for the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).