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TagsBY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Early summer heat has hit the New Jersey area with full force recently, and residents need to take extra care to avoid overexposure to the sun. But the sun may be shining a little brighter for the most extreme cases of skin cancer. An experimental cancer drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. could become the first new melanoma drug in over a decade.
In clinical trials the drug, ipilimunab, kept about a quarter of patients battling late-stage melanoma alive for two years-almost twice the proportion associated with standard treatments, Bristol-Myers vice-president of oncology clinical research Renzo Canetta told Bloomberg.com.
Cases of melanoma being diagnosed in the US have been rising, especially among women ages 15 to 39. Melanoma kills most patients within six to eight months after spreading from the site of its first appearance on the body, often in the form of a black mole.
The Bristol-Myers study followed 676 patients with advanced melanoma who had not been helped by earlier available drug treatments. Patients who received ipilimunab lived on average for ten months compared to six months for those not getting it.
Melanoma is curable when caught in its early stages. It's the fifth most common male cancer and the sixth most common female cancer. Although melanomas can still arise in skin not exposed to the sun, the sun's ultraviolet rays are a major risk for developing this cancer.Research is continuing to determine whether the drug can have a more potent effect right after initial surgery. Bristol-Myers plans to apply for permission to market ipilimunab with the Food and Drug Administration before the end of the year.
