Results of Pegintron study show reduced rate of post-surgery melanoma recurrence

Rotterdam, Netherlands - Researchers here say that Pegintron, a hepatitis C drug marketed by Schering-Plough Corp., helps stop the post-surgery return of melanoma, Reuters reports.

In their study, researchers at Rotterdam’s Erasmus University Medical Center found that patients who received regular injections of Pegintron following surgery to remove their tumors had a 15 percent reduced risk of cancer recurrence after four years, as compared with melanoma patients who were not administered the drug.

The phase 3 study is the final step before a company can seek approval of a drug. In March, according to Schering-Plough, based in Kenilworth, N.J., a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel postponed a review of Pegintron to treat melanoma and sought clarification of existing data. No date has been set for another review.

The Dutch study was published in the journal Lancet.