Research Time

OK, enough of that Jim Rice and West Virginia stuff. Back to the real news.

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The European Commission approved Zevalin as a first-line consolidation therapy. This means that patients who have achieved a partial or complete remission from a treatment like chemotherapy can then receive Zevalin as a way of extending that remission.

The approval was given based on the results of what is known as the FIT Study (First-line Indolent Trial). I've written about this study before: it's a phase III trial that showed that fNHL patients went an average of 13 months of remission after receiving chemo, but that was extended to over 3 years if they received Zevalin after the chemo. That's a big deal.

In the U.S., the FDA had been expected to make a similar decision, but asked for more data from the FIT Study before giving final approval for the same use for Zevalin. The have announced the date for their final decision -- September 7. Spectrum, which markets Zevalin, has seen its shares go up on the news; it seems like FDA approval is likely, given all of the small clues that have been coming out. That's excellent news: some observers think that the approval will mean more oncologists will be willing to give Zevalin a try, and that will increase demand for more use.

Great news all around.

If you need another reminder about what Zevalin is, there's a nice recent article from Examiner.com that gives the basics of RadioImmunoTherapy. It includes a picture of some Rituxin growing in bottles on a shelf, and a little bit from Jamie Reno, a fNHL survivor who received Bexxar (another RIT, like Zevalin) about 10 years ago and is still going strong. Reno is a singer and journalist -- the guy who did the interview with Farrah Fawcett's oncologist, linked in Lympho Bob a few weeks ago.

(There's also a link there for "The Insider's Guide to Cancer in your 20's and 30's." I see stuff like that all the time, but you never see anything about being diagnosed in your 40's. I was six months into my 40's when I was diagnosed. Is 39 the cut-off for being "young?" I mean, it's not like I'm ordering fish sandwiches and coffee at Burger King, for cryin' out loud....)

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We seem to be in one of those cycles now where there's lots of new research floating around out there. I'll give what I can over the next few posts.