Noxafil (posaconazole), an anti- fungal agent may be better than other anti-fungals in helping cancer patients that have GVHD.
GVHD, graft-versus host disease, is a potential complication that can happen after a stem cell transplant. What is really happening is that the new stem cells given from a donor are now giving the patient a chance to build a new immune system--hopefully one that will give a cure. The foreign immune system can begin to attack the cancer patients body that received the transplant. Just like your immune system might reject a heart transplant, the new immune system is seeing the organs of the body as foreign and attack.
To combat this from happening the patients are usually given agents that suppress the immune system. This however, can then cause infections that can quickly develop into a life threatening situation. Researchers are continuing to look for ways to combat the infections that arise.
Noxafil was compared to Diflucan in a study of 600 patients with GVHD who were also receiving therapy to suppress their immune system. The anti-fungal agent that won out was Noxafil for the prevention of fungal infections.
Close to 6,000 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists were contacted by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and asked to answer a 38-question survey in an effort to determine the scientific integrity of the agency. Of the scientists contacted, 997 participated in the survey. Following are some key findings of the survey released by UCS:
