NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some patients in a small mid-stage clinical trial had a partial response to treatment with an experimental drug being developed by Eli Lilly and Co for advanced melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, according to a summary of the data.
The goal of the study was overall response to Lilly's tasisulam as a second-line treatment in patients whose melanoma had spread. Metastatic melanoma, a disease for which there are few treatment options, is usually fatal.
None of the 68 patients enrolled in the study experienced a complete response to the drug, but eight demonstrated a partial response, researchers said.
Partial response typically means the tumor or lesion shrank but did not disappear.
Twenty-four patients had no progression of the disease after receiving two cycles of tasisulam and 25 saw their disease worsen during treatment. Eleven other patients did not have their disease progression completely evaluated, according to an abstract, or brief summary, of the study.
The median progression-free survival, or time it took for the disease to worsen in half the patients, was 2.6 months.
Median overall survival was 9.6 months, Lilly said.
Adverse side effects of the drug included low platelet, red blood cell and white blood cell count, as well as fatigue and inflammation of the mucous membrane.
Researchers said the drug demonstrated activity against the disease and had a tolerable toxicity profile.
Full results of the study will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) scientific meeting in Chicago next month.
(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; editing by Carol Bishopric)
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