Lenvatinib (Lenvima)
New oral anticancer drug Lenvima (lenvatinib) has recently been approved by Japan for the treatment of unresectable thyroid cancer. This is another important market that the drug has captured since it was approved by the United States in February of this year. Previously, lenvatinib was granted orphan drug status and priority review qualifications in the United States, Japan, and the European Union. The drug, as an innovative drug with significant public health benefits, will help address the severe unmet medical needs in the field of kanker tiroid.
Eisai mengatakan Lenvima akan menjadi standar baru untuk pengobatan klinis kanker tiroid yang tidak dapat dioperasi. Industri sangat optimis terhadap Lenvima, dan diharapkan obat tersebut akan menjadi sumber pendapatan baru bagi Eisai, dengan penjualan tahunan mencapai puncaknya lebih dari $1 miliar.
According to Eisai’s official information, in a large phase III SELECT study, lenvatinib significantly prolonged the progression-free survival of radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer compared to placebo (PFS: 18.3 months vs 3.6 months At the same time, a significantly higher proportion of patients in the lenvatinib treatment group achieved tumor volume reduction (65% vs 2%). In addition, in another phase II study in Japan, lenvatinib also showed good efficacy and tolerance for medullary thyroid cancer and undifferentiated thyroid cancer.
Based on these results, Lenvima was approved by the Japanese regulatory agency to become the first molecular targeted therapy for unresectable thyroid cancer (including differentiated thyroid cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, and undifferentiated thyroid cancer).
Saat ini, meskipun sebagian besar jenis kanker tiroid dapat diobati, hanya ada sedikit pilihan pengobatan jika kondisinya semakin parah. Kanker tiroid diferensial (DTC) adalah tumor tiroid ganas yang paling umum, dan kejadiannya terus meningkat dalam beberapa tahun terakhir.
Lenvatinib adalah inhibitor tirosin kinase (RTK) multi-reseptor oral dengan mode pengikatan baru. Selain menghambat RTK lain yang terlibat dalam proliferasi tumor dan jalur pensinyalan onkogenik, ia juga dapat secara selektif menghambat aktivitas reseptor kinase faktor pertumbuhan endotel vaskular (VEGF).
