ROCKVILLE, Maryland—Torisel has become the third drug in 18 months to win FDA approval for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. Torisel (temsirolimus, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals) received its marketing approval on the basis of data from a phase III clinical trial showing increased survival with single-agent Torisel, compared with interferon-alfa, which was the standard at the time the study was designed. Wyeth expects to make Torisel available to patients this month.
FDA approved Nexavar (sorafenib, Bayer Pharmaceuticals) in December 2005 for the same cancer indication on the basis of delayed disease progression, and Sutent (sunitinib, Pfizer) in January 2006 based on durable response rate. Later data showed Sutent delayed tumor progression.
"Temsirolimus is the first drug to demonstrate a significant increase in overall survival for patients with the most aggressive form of kidney cancer, providing us with a new and much needed option for treatment," said Gary Hudes, MD, director of the genitourinary malignancies program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, and lead investigator of the phase III trial (N Engl J Med 356:2271-2281, 2007).
Study Results
Wyeth submitted a phase III, multicenter, randomized, open-label study of 626 patients with untreated advanced renal cell carcinoma—both clear-cell and non-clear-cell histologies—to support its New Drug Application. Patients ranged in age from 23 to 86 years (mean, 59 years); 69% were male; 91% were white; 76% had undergone prior nephrectomy.
Participants were randomized to receive interferon-alfa only (n = 207), Torisel alone at 25 mg weekly (n = 209), or a combination of Torisel 15 mg and interferon-alfa (n = 210). Of the intention-to-treat patients, 616 underwent therapy.
