Health trends

Late-stage breast cancer treatment approved

The United States Food and Drug Administration recently approved Halaven (eribulin mesylate) to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer who have received at least two prior chemotherapy regimens for late-stage disease.

Halaven is a synthetic form of a chemotherapeutically active compound derived from the sea sponge, Halichondria okadai.

This injectable therapy is a microtubule inhibitor, believed to work by inhibiting cancer cell growth. Before receiving Halaven, patients should have received prior anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy for early or late-stage breast cancer. Halaven's safety and effectiveness were established in a single study in 762 women with metastatic breast cancer who had received at least two prior chemotherapy regimens for late-stage disease.

"There are limited treatment options for women with aggressive forms of late-stage breast cancer who have already received other therapies," said Richard Pazdur, MD, director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Halaven shows a clear survival benefit and is an important new option for women."

Source: US Food and Drug Administration

Be smart about antibiotic use

This year, millions of anti-biotics will be prescribed. Antibiotics can be used to treat bacterial infections; however, they are commonly overprescribed. Patients sometimes ask their health-care professional to prescribe antibiotic drugs for viral infections, like the common cold, despite the fact that they will not work and may lead to potentially harmful side effects. The misuse of anti-biotics has contributed to one of the world's most pressing public health problems today, antibiotic resistance. When it comes to proper use, the US Food and Drug Administration recommends the following:

Don't skip doses and take your medicine as prescribed. Antibiotics are most effective when taken as prescribed.

Don't save antibiotics. The drug is meant for a particular infection at that time. Don't use leftover medicine. Taking the wrong drug can delay the appropriate treatment and your infection might get worse.

Don't take antibiotics prescribed for others. Only a health-care professional can determine the right treatment for your infection.

Source: US Food and Drug Administration