Pill That can Extend Survival in Skin Cancer Patients

Research indicates that a skin cancer drug dubbed wonderpill dramatically increases the survival time patients with the most aggressive form of the disease.

Research indicates that a skin cancer drug dubbed "wonderpill" dramatically increases the survival time patients with the most aggressive form of the disease.

The drug Vemurafenib, hailed the biggest breakthrough in skin cancer for 30 years, now been licensed for use in the UK after a review by the EU Commission.

Skin Cancer - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
Skin cancer is an abnormal growth of skin cells. It can develop due to a continuous exposure to sun over the years.

Patients with terminally advanced melanoma have seen their quality of life dramatically improved in trials and their survival prolonged by months, if not more than a year, the Daily Express reported.

Vemurafenib, developed by Roche, is a twice-daily smart pill that targets the activity of a rogue gene, which is present in half of malignant melanomas.

Patients in trials lived an average three-and-a-half months longer than those given standard chemotherapy.

Melanoma - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
Melanoma of the skin is a dangerous type of skin cancer that usually appears as a cancerous mole due to exposure to the sun’s damaging UV rays.

Drugs regulator the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is expected to rule if the treatment should be offered on the NHS later this year.

In the meantime, patients can apply for it via the Cancer Drugs Fund or as an individual funding request from their local primary care trust.

Skin disease/ Dermatology - Disorder - Problems - Cancer - Pigmentation - Diseases - Infographics
Skin diseases also known as dermatologic disorders are many in number and so are their causes. The common skin diseases or skin disorders are usually related to the epidermal layer of skin.

Vemurafenib works by targeting a faulty gene present in half of patients with inoperable skin cancer.

Every year more than 2,000 people, many of them young, die from the disease. Over the past 30 years the incidence of malignant melanoma has quadrupled and it is now the most common cancer in women aged 15-24.

Basal Cell Cancer-Risk Factors-Symptoms–Diagnosis–Treatment–Prognosis-Prevention
Basal cell cancer is a locally invading cancer. It often occurs on the face above a line joining the angle of the mouth and the ear lobe.

Until now, the only treatment option was highly toxic chemo- therapy.

Clinical trials of vemurafenib, marketed as Zelboraf, were led in the UK by the Royal Marsden Hospital and saw patients living an average of 13.2 months longer compared with 9.6 months for patients receiving chemotherapy.

"The arrival of a new, effective drug to help advanced melanoma patients is very welcome news, especially given that Cancer Research UK helped fund the basic lab work that led to its development," said Sarah Woolnough, director of policy at Cancer Research UK.

"We are now looking for Roche to price this drug sensibly so that the NHS can afford to make it available to all who need it," she stated.

Richard Marais, Professor of Molecular Oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research, added: "The availability of an effective pill will provide clear life-style benefits to patients."

Source-ANI