Eribulin mesylate demonstrated anti-tumor activity in patients with advanced bre...( Woodcliff Lake N.J. May 15 2008The i...)

Woodcliff Lake, N.J., May 15, 2008The investigational chemotherapeutic agent eribulin mesylate (E7389) demonstrated activity in a heavily pretreated population of women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, according to results of a multi-center Phase II clinical trial. The study also suggests that eribulin mesylate has a manageable tolerability profile, with a low incidence of Grade 3 (severe) and no Grade 4 (disabling or life-threatening) neuropathy. These data (abstract #1084) will be presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on Monday, June 2 from 2 to 6 p.m. at S Hall A1 of McCormick Place.

The anti-tumor activity of eribulin mesylate, as observed in this study, is encouraging, given the limited treatment options for women with advanced breast cancer who have previously received multiple lines of therapy, said lead investigator Linda T. Vahdat, MD, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. The subjects in this trial had received a median of four prior chemotherapy regimens that included an anthracycline, a taxane and capecitabine.

About Study 211 Study 211 is a Phase II, open-label, single-arm study evaluating the efficacy and safety of eribulin mesylate in patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who had received an anthracycline, a taxane and capecitabine as prior therapy, and who were refractory to their last chemotherapy regimen, as documented by progression on or within six months of that therapy.

Of 299 patients enrolled in the study, 291 were treated with eribulin mesylate. The median age of those patients was 56 years (range: 26-80 years). Eribulin mesylate was administered at a dose of 1.4mg/m2 as a 2- to 5-minute intravenous infusion on Days 1 and 8 of a 21-day cycle. Patients received a median of four cycles of eribulin mesylate (range 1-27). No premedication to prevent hypersensitivity was required.

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