Eight patients treated with a low dose of the drug lived an average of 7.1 months, compared to 16.3 months for 14 patients receiving a higher dose. For a patient with this advanced cancer who does not respond to standard treatments, the expected survival time is approximately eight months, Li said. No significant side effects were observed in the patients. The trial was funded by Aeterna. The National Cancer Institute found the results promising enough that it is funding a larger study in patients with lung cancer, Falardeau said.
Trials are also underway in patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood.