BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that while there is drug development activity for cancer indications such as soft tissue sarcoma and acute myeloid leukemia, among others, high levels of unmet need persist for the treatment of many rare cancers. According to the new Strategic Insights report entitled Tapping the Commercial Potential of Rare Cancers, the need for additional therapies to treat advanced and metastatic disease will be partially met by drugs currently in the pipeline, but more work needs to be done to develop novel therapies to treat patients with specific subtypes of rare cancers and elderly patients.

Clinical development remains a key challenge in bringing new therapies to market to treat rare cancers.  Because patient populations are small with many subsets within a defined indication, clinical trial recruitment is slow. Additionally, development of an optimal trial design for rare cancers also represents a major hurdle for drug developers.

"Although development of therapies to treat rare cancers is challenging given small patient populations and disease characteristics, unmet need in this area offers drug makers an opportunity to establish themselves in these markets," said Decision Resources Group Senior Vice President Kate Hohenberg. "Advancements in treating rare cancers like chronic myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma are examples of how developing therapies for niche indications can lead to products with blockbuster sales as well as producing profound patient benefit. Across most rare cancer types, treatment needs to be improved, but there are a number of drugs in the pipeline that may address some unmet needs for rare cancers."

About Strategic Insights
Strategic Insights is a new series of high-level, strategic reports from Decision Resources Group thought leaders, designed for corporate executives in the biopharma industry. The Strategic Insights series evaluates global industry trends that are shaping the healthcare market, and delivers targeted, actionable insight in an easy-to-read PowerPoint format.

About Decision Resources
Decision Resources (www.decisionresources.com) is a world leader in market research publications, advisory services and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources and master their chosen markets. Decision Resources is a Decision Resources Group company.

About Decision Resources Group
Decision Resources Group is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit Decision Resources Group at www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com.

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For more information, contact:

Decision Resources Group
Christopher Comfort
781-993-2597
ccomfort@dresources.com

SOURCE Decision Resources