A new drug has been approved by the FDA to map lymph nodes. This is the first drug since 1981 that has come out for this purpose. The objective of the drug is to locate lymph nodes, not cancerous cells.
“Removal and pathological examination of lymph nodes draining a primary tumor is an important diagnostic evaluation for some patients with breast cancer or melanoma,” said Dr Shaw Chen, deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation IV in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “To use Lymphoseek, doctors inject the drug into the tumor area and later, using a handheld radiation detector, find lymph nodes that have taken up Lymphoseek’s radioactivity.”
“Removal and pathological examination of lymph nodes draining a primary tumor is an important diagnostic evaluation for some patients with breast cancer or melanoma,” said Dr Shaw Chen, deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation IV in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “To use Lymphoseek, doctors inject the drug into the tumor area and later, using a handheld radiation detector, find lymph nodes that have taken up Lymphoseek’s radioactivity.”
A clinical trial was conducted on over 300 patients with breast cancer or melanoma to find lymph nodes using Lymphoseek or blue dye. The results showed both were able to locate most lymph nodes, but Lymphoseek was able to find many more than the blue dye.
For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2013/03/15/fda-approves-lymphoseek-to-help-locate-lymph-nodes-in-patients-with-certain-cancers/.
For the full article, visit http://www.aalatimes.com/2013/03/15/fda-approves-lymphoseek-to-help-locate-lymph-nodes-in-patients-with-certain-cancers/.
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