1ST HEAD-TO-HEAD KYTRIL/ZOFRAN STUDY

Glaxo's Zofran (ondansetron) and SmithKline Beecham's Kytril (granisetron) in injectable form are equally effective in controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in lung cancer patients at the recommended doses, according to new data presented at the 7th World Conference on Lung Cancer on June 30.

In the first head-to-head trial of the two compounds, a single dose of Kytril (10ug/kg) was as efficaceous as three doses of Zofran (0.15mg/kg) in controlling nausea and vomiting in lung cancer patients. All the patients had received therapy with highly-emetogenic cisplatin-based regimens. The trial actually involved 992 patients, but only data from the 533 lung cancer patients were shown as this was the focus of the conference.

The patients were randomly assigned to the two different treatment groups detailed above, as well as a 40ug/kg Kytril group. Kytril was administered 30 minutes before the start of cancer chemotherapy, while the initial dose of Zofran was given at the same time; the two subsequent Zofran doses were given at four and eight hours after chemotherapy induction. To maintain the blinding of the study, patients who received Kytril also received two placebo injections.