SMART DRUG BOOSTS SURVIVAL

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Study finds targeted therapy beneficial to liver cancer patients in the
late stages of the disease

Joanne Yap
joanne@mediacorp.com.sg

Liver cancer, the fifth most commonly occurring cancer worldwide, is one
of the most feared cancers in modern times. Usually diagnosed in its
advanced stages, it takes a patient's life in a matter of months.

In Singapore, it is the third most common gastrointestinal tract cancer,
with 14 out of every 100,000 people affected annually.

Treatment of the disease has commonly hit a roadblock, as the cancer does
not respond well to chemotherapy or surgery in its late stages.

But there's hope for patients yet as doctors are closer to ascertaining
that a new drug, sorafenib, helps improve survival rates.

In a multinational study, conducted by the American Society of Clinical
Oncology on 602 patients with advanced liver cancer, doctors found that on
average, patients who were on sorafenib survived 10.7 months, as compared
to 8 months for patients who were not on the drug.

Lead author of the study, Dr Josep Llovet, described the drug as a major
breakthrough in the management of the disease, for its ability to delay
the progression of the disease.

Dr Wong Seng Weng, consultant medical oncologist at Raffles Hospital said:
"Sorafenib is an important breakthrough in the treatment of advanced liver
cancers as it belongs to a new generation of anti-cancer treatment known
as targeted therapy."

Like the smart bombs that are employed in modern warfare, targeted
therapeutic drugs are smart drugs which are better able to zero in on
tumour cells and destroy them; or block tumour growth with minimal damage
done to the body's healthy cells.

Currently, surgery is the only means of achieving a total cure, according
to Dr Wong.

However, most patients discover the cancer at a stage when the tumour has
become too advanced in the disease to be operated on, thus reducing the
chances of recovery.

Other methods of treatment used to control the condition include the
injection of chemotherapy or radiotherapy substances into the blood
circulation of the tumour.

In addition, doctors also employ radio waves, which are emitted from a
probe inserted into the growth, to treat it.

The verdict on the new drug, which is available in Singapore on a
case-by-case basis and is subject to HSA approval, is a good one.

Dr Wong explained: "Sorafenib has achieved a survival advantage in
patients with liver cancer that has never been seen before. It is also
convenient to administer. There are also none of the side effects that
conventional chemotherapy brings about."