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Temsirolimus approved in Singapore for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma

November 30, 2010 (Singapore) – Pfizer, through its Singapore oncology business unit announced today that targeted biological therapy temsirolimus has been approved in Singapore for use in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer, accounting for about 85% of all kidney cancer cases^[i]. Approximately 182 Singaporeans are diagnosed with kidney cancer annually^[ii]

Temsirolimus is a first-line medicine approved for the treatment of advanced RCC, with overall survival of 10.9 months in patients with poor prognosis.

“Unlike conventional chemotherapy agents that kill or damage normal, healthy cells as well as cancerous ones, targeted therapies like temsirolimus are designed to minimize harm to normal cells while attacking the cancer cells that enable tumors to grow,” says Dr Vicknesh Wellupillai, Medical Director for Pfizer who covers Singapore and Malaysia.

“Pfizer’s trial results showed that temsirolimus significantly increased survival, helping patients to live longer”, he adds.

Temsirolimus works by slowing down the growth and spread of cancer. It does this by blocking a protein called ‘mammalian target of rapamycin’ (mTOR), which causes cancer cells to replicate[iii]. It may also help to stop the creation of new blood vessels that feed advanced RCC cells.

“In its latter stages, RCC is notoriously difficult to treat - temsirolimus demonstrates a significant increase in overall survival for patients with the most aggressive form of kidney cancer, providing them with a much needed hope to extend their lives,” says oncologist Dr Tay Miah Hiang from OncoCare Cancer Centre.

About 25% to 30% of people who are diagnosed with RCC are already in the advanced stages of the disease when they are diagnosedi,^[iv].

“Early diagnosis of RCC is challenging because many patients don’t have any symptoms,” adds Dr Tay.

“It also wasn’t long ago that doctors had very few treatment options available for people with this deadly type of cancer. Targeted therapies like temsirolimus are now changing the entire treatment landscape.”

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About RCC:

The kidney's main function is to filter the blood and rid the body of excess water, salt, and waste products ^[v].

RCC often grows as a single tumor within one kidney. Sometimes, more than one tumor grows in one kidney. Less often, tumors grow in both kidneys at the same time. Some of the cancer cells may enter the bloodstream and spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body, developing new tumors in other organs i.e. the lungs.

Common signs and symptoms of the disease include fatigue, weight loss, anaemia, blood in the urine or pain in the lower side torso.

About temsirolimus:

Temsirolimus is the only intravenous mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the first-line setting.

Based on preclinical studies, temsirolimus inhibits the activity of mTOR, an intracellular protein implicated in multiple growth-related cellular functions including proliferation, growth and survival. The inhibition of mTOR also reduces levels of certain growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which are over-expressed in solid tumors like kidney cancer and are thought to play a crucial role in angiogenesis, the process by which tumors acquire blood vessels, nutrients and oxygen needed for growth.

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^[i] Cohen HT, McGovern FJ. Renal-cell carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2005;353

^[ii] http://www.nccs.com.sg/pat/file/Report_1968_2002.pdf

^[iii] TORISEL® Kit (temsirolimus) Prescribing Information, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc.

^[iv] Feldman DR, Motzer RJ. Novel targets and therapies for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Oncology. 2006;20:1745-1753

^[v] http://www.urology.com.sg/eng/conditions_kidney_cancer.htm