TAXOL SHOULD ONLY USED IN TRIALS, SAYS D&TB

The UK Consumers' Association's Drug & Therapeutics Bulletin (June 16) has reviewed Bristol-Myers Squibb's taxane anticancer compound Taxol (paclitaxel) and concluded that it is "an expensive and toxic drug, induces a short-lasting response in about a fifth of patients with metastatic ovarian cancer refractory to treatment with platinum drugs such as cisplatin and until we know whether paclitaxel used in this way prolongs survival, the drug should only be given in clinical trials."

The D&TB notes that paclitaxel has been evaluated in three prospective open studies in patients with refractory ovarian carcinoma. In two of these studies, involving 81 patients, two patients underwent a complete response (complete disappearance of the tumor) and 16 showed a partial response (defined as a 50% reduction or greater in tumor size). The median duration of response was six months.

The third study involved 1,000 patients who had received two or more chemotherapy regimens and had not improved on, or had a recurrence within three months of, platinum-based treatment. 663 patients had measurable disease, notes the D&TB; 4% of them had a complete response while 18% had a partial response, with a median duration of about five months.