Reject drug treats cancer

17 Jun 2002

Light-sensitive cancer drug Foscan reveals promising results despite US Food and Drug Administration rejection.

Researchers at this week's European Cancer Conference (ECCO) in Portugal, are hailing the photodynamic therapy drug Foscan as an "effective and well tolerated treatment", despite the fact that the drug was rejected by US's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year. The claim follows a two-year study of 114 patients with head and neck cancers.

UK-based pharmaceutical company Scotia developed Foscan in 1998, and applied for FDA approval in September 1999. The FDA rejected its application a year later. The European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) also issued a negative opinion for using Foscan, although this was reversed six months later.

The recent study presented at ECCO involved a collaboration between fifteen centers in six countries. The research has revealed promising results for using Foscan to treat head and neck cancer.

"After two years follow-up, 85% of patients achieved a complete elimination of the tumor with photodynamic therapy alone," said Colin Hopper from the UK-based National Medical Laser Center. "These response rates are comparable to those published for surgery or radiotherapy."