Glutathione, a natural-occurring substance in development as a pharmaceutical by Boehringer Mannheim, can reduce the toxicities associated with the use of cisplatin therapy in the treatment of ovarian cancer, according to John Smyth from Edinburgh University, presenting results of a Phase III trial with cisplatin plus glutathione or cisplatin alone at the 19th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Lisbon, Portugal, last month.
The patients in the trial (n=152) were randomized to receive either 100mg/m2 of cisplatin plus 3g/m2 of glutathione or cisplatin alone every three weeks followed by a week of rest, for a total of six cycles.
To date, said Prof Smyth, 120 patients have been analyzed, 62 of whom were evaluable for response (32 from the glutathione group and 30 from the control group). The response rate in the glutathione group was 84% including 12 complete responders, compared to 57% in the control group which had nine complete responders. Progression occurred in 13% of the combination arm and in 37% of the control arm. Although these data are encouraging, said Prof Smyth, and may even point to a synergistic effect of the drug with cisplatin, this was not the focus of the study and so this data should not be interpreted as such.
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