KRAS is Key to Choosing Colorectal Cancer Chemotherapy
Some medical experts are predicting it will soon become common practice to test all colorectal cancers for mutations in the KRAS gene prior to choosing a chemotherapy treatment for each patient.
This change in protocol is based on recent studies which show advanced colorectal cancer patients with mutated KRAS genes in their tumors are unlikely to benefit from chemotherapy with Erbitux® (cetuximab) and a similar drug Vectibix® (panitumumab). It is estimated that 30-40 percent of all colorectal cancers carry mutated forms of KRAS.
Findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology indicated that only patients with normal KRAS genes improved their progression-free survival rate using Erbitux®. Erbitux® and Vectibix® are both designed to treat cancer by blocking the activity of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) proteins.
Since commercial tests are already available to test for KRAS mutations and other proven treatments exist for colorectal cancer, oncologists who conduct advance testing could spare many patients the side effects of Erbitux® and Vectibux® treatments that would ultimately prove ineffective in treating their form of cancer. As one doctor not involved with this KRAS research said,
“I believe it is now warranted to test all patients being considered for these agents.”
If you’d like to learn more, click here to read the complete article
featured in the June 10, 2008, edition of the NCI Cancer Bulletin.
Source: NCI Cancer Bulletin
Related Links: The Wall Street Journal Health Blog; ascocancerfoundation.org
Technorati Tags: genetic counseling; metastatic cancer; personalized medicine; patient-centered health
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