LCNDG Rapid Review: Vandetanib for metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma

Source: London Cancer New Drugs Group Area: Evidence > Drug Specific Reviews Thyroid cancer is a relatively rare malignancy, representing approximately 1% of all cancers, although it is the most common type of endocrine malignancy. In the UK, there were 2,154 newly diagnosed thyroid cancer cases in 2008 (3.5 cases per 100,000). Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is an uncommon histological subtype of thyroid cancer that accounts for approximately 3 to 5% of all thyroid cancer cases (or approximately 0.1 to 0.2 cases per 100,000 population).   Vandetanib (Caprelsa®) is licensed for the treatment of aggressive and symptomatic MTC in patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic disease.   The license approval for the use of vandetanib for MTC is based on a phase III trial which evaluated the drug in patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease. The randomised, controlled trial involved 331 patients with measurable, unresectable diseases. At data cutoff, the median duration of follow up was 24 months, and 139 patients were ...
Source: NeLM - Drug Specific Reviews - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news