FDA Okays Eli Lilly Lung Cancer Treatment

By Rachel Stockton

The FDA has approved Alimta, manufactured by Eli Lilly, to essentially become the first maintenance treatment for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, non-small-cell lung cancer is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the nation.

Typically, advanced (or metastatic) lung cancer patients are given 4-6 rounds of chemotherapy, which is stopped in those patients whose tumors have either stopped growing or are shrinking. The new FDA go ahead means that doctors can continue administering Alimta after the initial round of chemo. In the past, physicians waited to administer the drug until patient tumors began to grow again.

Alimta is a chemotherapy drug that provides the benefits of other cancer drugs without some of the harsh side effects of initial chemotherapy treatment. In early 2004, the FDA approved the drug as a treatment for asbestos related tumors, or “pleural mesothelioma,” a cancer that develops in the lining of the lung. Later that year it was approved to treat non-small-cell-lung cancer.

This newest nod being given to Alimta is welcome news to the cancer community. In April 2009, the New York Times reported that lung cancer remains a low priority when it comes to cancer funding. Although lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the nation, claiming 160,000 lives annually, the National Cancer Institute in 2006 spent only $1518 for each new case of lung cancer, while spending $13,452 on breast cancer (New York Times). Many believe this is due to the “stigma” that surrounds lung cancer. Because of its link to smoking, the public views the illness with less sympathy than cancers that can’t be attributed to what is perceived as a “negative” behavior.