Latest Lapatinib Stories

NEW drug lapatinib is described as a "stealth fighter" against breast cancer. It is not a cure but temporarily stops progression of the disease for women with advanced cases of breast cancer who test positive for the protein HER2. Maker GlaxoSmithKline estimates its drug will help 2,000 women a year in the UK. These are patients who have been treated using other frontline therapies including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and whose disease has stopped responding to another drug,...

By Lisa Richwine ATLANTA (Reuters) - An experimental drug added to chemotherapy slowed aggressive, late-stage breast cancers that resumed growing despite standard treatment with the drug Herceptin, U.S. researchers said on Saturday. The drug, Tykerb, by GlaxoSmithKline Plc, also showed potential to help some patients with advanced kidney cancer, another study showed. Glaxo hopes to begin selling the drug next year, but must await regulatory approval. Industry analysts predict it could...

ATLANTA (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline's experimental pill Tykerb helped some patients with advanced kidney cancer live longer, French researchers reported on Saturday. No difference in survival was seen for the overall group of 416 patients studied, said scientists at University Hospital of Bordeaux. A benefit was seen, however, in 241 of those patients who had tumors that produced the highest amounts of a protein called EGFR, which helps tumor cells grow and divide. Patients in that...

By Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc will put four new cancer drugs into final-stage clinical trials next year, as it sets its sights on a leading position in the drug industry's fastest-growing market. Europe's biggest drug maker said on Wednesday four products -- Tykerb, formerly known as lapatinib, eltrombopag, casopitant and pazopanib -- held substantial promise for fighting tumors or helping patients overcome the...

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Wednesday it expected to have four key cancer drugs in final-stage clinical trials next year. Europe's biggest drug maker said Tykerb, formerly known as lapatinib, eltrombopag, casopitant and pazopanib all held promise for fighting tumors and helping patients overcome the side-effects of chemotherapy. Until now, oncology has been a small area for Glaxo but the group believes new products will make it a major player in the fast-growing...

By Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc plans to make India a major center for testing experimental cancer drugs, in a move highlighting the appeal of the country as a low-cost base for research. Europe's biggest drug maker said on Thursday it had signed a collaboration with the University of Oxford's clinical pharmacology department to establish the first Indian cancer-trials network. Glaxo, which has big ambitions in cancer,...

By Gene Emery BOSTON (Reuters) - In studies described as "stunning," researchers on Thursday reported that a drug already used to treat advanced cancer can prevent half of all breast tumors from reappearing after standard therapy. But the treatment only works in women whose breast tumors carry excessive amounts of a protein known as HER2 that makes the cancer particularly aggressive, and on occasion may cause serious side effects. About one in five women with breast cancer have such...

By Gene Emery BOSTON (Reuters) - In studies described as "stunning," researchers reported on Wednesday that a drug already used to treat advanced cancer can prevent half of all breast tumors from reappearing after standard therapy. But the treatment only works in women whose breast tumors carry excessive amounts of a protein known as HER2 that makes the cancer particularly aggressive, and on occasion may cause serious side effects. About one in five women with breast cancer have such...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The combination of the anti-cancer drugs Herceptin and Taxotere appears to work better than Taxotere alone in women with advanced breast cancer that has spread beyond the breast, research shows. Moreover, there is little added toxicity when Herceptin is given. Herceptin (trastuzumab) is a monoclonal antibody, meaning that it binds to one specific protein, HER2, which helps regulate cell growth. Overexpression of HER2, a sign of more aggressive cancer, occurs in...