Pfizer's Sutent effective against GIST

US drug behemoth Pfizer says that its drug Sutent (sunitinib) could be of clinical benefit to patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors who have failed treatment with Novartis' breakthrough drug Gleevec (imatinib), according to a study published in the Ocotober 10 on-line edition of The Lancet.

In the study, 312 volunteers were randomized to receive either oral Sutent (once-daily at a 50mg starting dose) or placebo. Treatment was given in six-week cycles with four weeks on and two weeks off treatment.

Sutent patients had a longer median time-to-tumor-progression (27.3 weeks) compared with those on placebo (6.4 weeks). Similarly, the sunitinib group had a longer duration of progression-free survival (24.1 weeks versus 6.0 weeks) and overall survival than the placebo group. The most commonly reported adverse effects of treatment included fatigue, diarrhea, skin discoloration and nausea, Pfizer noted.