Number Of Cancer Drugs Submitted For US Approval Is On The Rise

The Hill (6/5, Viebeck) “Healthwatch” blog reports, “The number of cancer drugs submitted for US approval is on the rise as researchers’ understanding of how to fight the condition grows.” According to Dr. Richard Pazdur, head of the FDA’s office of oncology products, “There are a large number of drugs being developed in oncology.” Pazdur added, “There is greater understanding of some of the disease processes.” At the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, “scientists noted several advances that have increased the sophistication of cancer treatments and reduced side effects.”

Reuters (6/5, Beasley) that at the ASCO meeting, Pazdur said, “This year we expect over 20 oncology applications will be filed.” Pazdur added, “In oncology, the greatest difficulty has been the efficacy issue.” But, “we are starting to see new drugs with important survival advantages.”

As Many As 2.2 Million People In US May Be Infected With Chronic Hepatitis B

HealthDay (6/1, Reinberg) reports that a new study appearing in the journal Hepatology finds that “as many as 2.2 million people in the United States may be infected with chronic hepatitis B virus.” Lead researcher Dr. Carol Brosgart, a member of the faculty at the division of global health at the University of California, San Francisco, is quoted as saying, “Given our ability to treat chronic hepatitis B virus and to monitor for emergence of liver cancer when it is treatable, physicians should screen the foreign-born, their children and close contacts.”

Body-Building, Weight-Loss Products May Cause Liver Injury

HealthDay (5/23, Preidt) reports, “Body-building and weight-loss products are the types of dietary supplements most likely to cause liver injury,” according to research presented at the Digestive Disease Week meeting. “In this study, funded by the US Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network, researchers looked at 109 cases of patients who appeared to have suffered liver injury because of dietary supplements. Most of the patients were male, white and overweight.”
        “In a review of national data, supplements accounted for 18% of liver injuries in the US, Jose Serrano, MD, of the National Institutes of Health, reported during a press briefing,” MedPage Today (5/23, Petrochko) reports. Serrano stated, “There were no deaths, but 7% of patients needed a liver transplant. These are not trivial consequences.”