Skin Cancer Treatment - New Promising Treatment Gets Fast Track Approval

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently fast tracked the approval process of a promising treatment for Metastatic Melanoma following the publication of the results of a study conducted at the John Theurer Cancer Center at the Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. The FDA accepted an application for the approval of Ipilimumab from Bristol-Myers Squibb, and granted the application priority review status on the same day this report was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, August 19, 2010.

Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., F.A.C.P., C.P.E., Chairman and Executive Administrative Director, John Theurer Cancer Center, and the leader of this particular study, commented on the study and the fast tracking of the approval process granted by the FDA: “This study, and the FDA’s decision, provides new hope for people with this devastating cancer. We are proud to have played a role in helping move another promising cancer treatment closer to market.”

The study conducted at the John Theurer Cancer Center at the Hackensack University Medical Center, which is the largest and most comprehensive center dedicated to the research, diagnosis, treatment and management of all types of cancers in New Jersey, proved that Ipilimumab improved the survival rates of patients with stage IV melanoma, through randomized, placebo-controlled trials.