Researchers from the University of Texas treated 93 rapidly progressing cancer patients with motesanib diphosphate. Results showed that 49 patients had a positive response to treatment with the drug. Nearly 14 percent had their tumors shrink and 35 had their tumors stabilize for more than 24 weeks.
When the genetic analysis was carried out on 25 patients, results showed that drug response was better in those with a mutation known as BRAF V600E in their tumors than in those without the mutation.
The drug, motesanib diphosphate, is a VEGF inhibitor, a biologic agent that targets receptors on a protein known as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The VEGF helps in the formation of new blood vessels, a process that allows tumors to grow and spread.
Currently, there are few treatment options for metastatic thyroid cancer. The new study is published in the July 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Thyroid cancer can occur in any age group, although it is most common after age 30 and its aggressiveness increases significantly in older patients. The majority of patients had a nodule on their thyroid which typically does not cause symptoms. Symptoms such as hoarseness, neck pain, and enlarged lymph nodes occur in people with thyroid cancer.
There are about 20,000 new cases of thyroid cancer each year in the United States. Females are more likely to have thyroid cancer at a ratio of three-to-one.
