RECURRENT LIPOSARCOMA

The other day we were in a conference discussing a case of Liposarcoma.  The man was in his 50ies and had been referred to the University surgeon for an extensive abdominal Liposarcoma that needed further resection. The disease had been resected at least twice by the community surgeon before, it had returned with significant peritoneal and pelvic infiltration.  Interval between resections had been in years, but now it was in months.  Clearly, the disease has packed further gene abnormalities now that it is evidently metastatic.  Let me take this back, because despite the widespread invasion in the abdomen, there was no tissue invasion.  There were no clear liver, lung or brain invasion.  This disease was killing a man before our eyes because of clear infiltration of abdominal tissues.
Because of the interval between surgeries, the Oncologist argued that this is a low grade tumor and may not be handled with standard chemotherapy and I strongly believe he was right.  My case with Angiosarcoma did not budge with Gemzar, Taxol followed by MAID,  I am trying AVASTIN ALONE now!
But returning to the case, the hospital and the surgery department are now breathing on the neck of the surgeon because they do not see the point of putting the patient through very expensive surgeries followed by  costly ICU stays every few months. I guess there are potential liabilities linked to the exercise. Particularly because the surgeries were done when this patient was with evident big progression of disease, but asymptomatic still.   Oncologist and Surgeon alike argued we should not wait for symptoms, because it could be inoperable by then, and an aggressive surgery plan is helpful in these local diseases.
With standard chemotherapy out the only thing left is Target therapy as an effective option.  We did not get help from the pathology department since no genetic abnormality testing is done (this is not Mayo or Harvard.  DR KRIS who speaks of gene panels in lung cancer does not live here).  And Votrient, the only  FDA approved drug is indicated in those who failed chemotherapy.  Basically, you have to put this man on chemotherapy that you know will harm him unnecessarily in order to get to Votrient (Pazopanib), an anti-VEGFR(s), Anti-c-KIT, anti-PDGFR a/Beta.  with 3-4 months advantage over placebo.
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FDA NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: April 26, 2012
Media Inquiries: Erica Jefferson, 301-796-4988, erica.jefferson@fda.hhs.gov
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
FDA approves Votrient for advanced soft tissue sarcoma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Votrient (pazopanib) to treat patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma who have previously received chemotherapy. Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer that begins in the muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, and other tissues.
Votrient is a pill that works by interfering with angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels needed for solid tumors to grow and survive.
A rare cancer with many subtypes, soft tissue sarcoma occurs in about 10,000 cases annually in the United States. More than 20 subtypes of sarcoma were included in the clinical trial leading to approval of Votrient. The drug is not approved for patients with adipocytic soft tissue sarcoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
“Soft tissue sarcomas are a diverse group of tumors and the approval of Votrient for this general class of tumors is the first in decades,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Drug development for sarcomas has been especially challenging because of the limited number of patients and multiple subtypes of sarcomas.”
The safety and effectiveness of Votrient was evaluated in a single clinical study in 369 patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma who had received prior chemotherapy. Patients were randomly selected to receive Votrient or a placebo. The study was designed to measure the length of time a patient lived without the cancer progressing (progression-free survival). The disease did not progress for a median of 4.6 months for patients receiving Votrient, compared with 1.6 months for those receiving the placebo.
The most common side effects in Votrient-treated patients were fatigue, diarrhea, nausea, weight loss, high blood pressure, decreased appetite, vomiting, tumor and muscle pain, hair color changes, headache, a distorted sense of taste, shortness of breath, and skin discoloration.
Votrient carries a boxed warning alerting patients and health care professionals to the potential risk of liver damage (hepatotoxicity), which can be fatal. Patients should be monitored for liver function and treatment should be discontinued if liver function declines.
Votrient was granted an orphan drug status designation for this indication. An orphan designation is given to a drug intended to treat a disease affecting fewer than 200,000 patients in the United States. Votrient was first approved in October 2009 for the treatment of advanced kidney cancer.

Votrient is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline of Research Triangle Park, N.C.
For more information:
FDA: Office of Hematology and Oncology Products
FDA: Approved Drugs: Questions and Answers
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

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For the sake of argument

1. In this man we know it is a Liposarcoma

therefore the primary deficiency is in the handling of lipid.  Insulin Receptor, may be?  IGFR, IGFBP, PPR1. CCR11
(GOT TO RUN TO CONFERENCE WITH XCENDA IN CHICAGO---TO BE CONTINUED!)

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