Afinitor approved for advanced breast cancer

July 23, 2012 in Medications

Afinitor approved for advanced breast cancer

(HealthDay) -- Afinitor (everolimus) has been approved in combination with the drug exemestane to treat postmenopausal women with advanced hormone-receptor positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

The newly approved combination is sanctioned for women whose cancer has progressed or returned despite previous use of the drugs letrozole (Femara) or anastrozole (Arimidex), the agency said in a news release.

Afinitor -- already sanctioned for uses which include treating certain forms of advanced -- was clinically evaluated for the new use among 724 people with . People who took the combination drug had a 4.6-month improvement in the average time to disease progression or death, compared to those who took a placebo.

The most common side effects among those taking Afinitor were mouth ulcers, infection, rash, fatigue, diarrhea, and loss of appetite.

Afinitor is marketed by Novartis, based in East Hanover, N.J.

More information: The National Cancer Institute has more about breast cancer.


Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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