New Data With SB's Hycamtin In SCLC

New data from three trials of SmithKline Beecham's topoisomerase Iinhibitor Hycamtin (topotecan) in the treatment of small cell lung cancer were recently presented at the 8th World Conference on Lung Cancer held in Dublin, Ireland.

In the largest Phase II trial of SCLC ever conducted, 47 and 45 patients with refractory and sensitive SCLC were administered topotecan 1.5mg/m2/day as a 30-minute intravenous infusion for five consecutive days every three weeks until either the patient experienced disease progression or became intolerant to the treatment.

Results of the trial, conducted by the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer, demonstrated that in patients with sensitive SCLC, defined as progressive disease more than three months after responding to previous chemotherapy, the overall response rate was 37.8%, with 11 patients experiencing a partial response and six patients a complete response. In the refractory patient subgroup, defined as having never responded to initial treatment or demonstrating progressive disease more than three months after previous chemotherapy, the overall response rate was 6.4%, with two partial responses and one complete response.