Votrient for Glioblastoma
Glioblastoma is a common brain cancer. It is currently approved for renal cell carcinoma with some activity against glioblastoma. Votrient(pazopanib) is a multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor with some activity against brain cancers. It also exhibits activity against melanoma and breast, prostate, colon, and lung cancers, although it has not yet been approved for use in those cancers. In this it is an advance over other currently available similar drugs that don’t have as a broad activity and affect one or two targets. It is in clinical trials for glioblastoma.
An encouraging phase II study in glioblastoma had been published. Single-agent pazopanib did not prolong PFS in this patient population but showed in situ biological activity as demonstrated by radiographic responses.
More research is ongoing.
It is important to know that 52% of the patients in one study reported diarrhea, although only less than 4% had grade 3 or 4 (severe) symptoms. 40% of the patients experienced an increase in blood pressure and other side effects. Careful attention to managing side effects can prevent discontinuation of therapy.
Read the Professional version here.