Findings from around the world found that treatment with the biological drug "Tagriso" was able to reduce the risk of mortality by 83 percent of patients with EGFR mutation

• The research has aroused great optimism in the medical community

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New study gives hope for cure for some lung cancer patients: The  researchers found that treatment with the biological drug "Tagriso" was able to reduce the risk of mortality or recurrence of the disease by 83%. Several patients from Israel were also involved in the study.

It is a treatment given only to lung cancer patients with a mutation called EGFR, which is common in lung cancer in non-smokers. In fact, the extraordinary results led to the study being discontinued from ethical considerations and treatment was also given to the control group receiving dummy cure. 

The World Monitoring Experimental Committee (IDMC) was stunned by the findings and immediately ordered the conclusions to be published, more than two years before the scheduled deadline for the study.

The patients who participated in the study were patients with relatively early-stage lung cancer (stage 2 or 3) who underwent tumor removal surgery. Some also received chemotherapy and were distributed to the research group that received treatment with Tagriso and the control group that received a dummy cure. Currently, these early stages of disease development are not addressed.  

The study found that treatment was able to prevent the recurrence of the disease for two years in 90% of patients treated with the drug, compared to 44% of patients in the control group who received a dummy. 

It is worth noting that the study was conducted on 682 lung cancer patients and has been conducted in more than 200 hospitals worldwide in 20 countries including the United States, Europe, South America, the Middle East and Israel. In the country of study, the medical centers were carried out by Shiba, Soroka, Meir, Hadassah, Rambam, Beilinson and Ichilov.

The study raises great expectations in the medical world. The research team presented it at the keynote session of the American Oncology Conference (ASCO). This is the largest and most important cancer treatment conference that is taking place this year due to the Corona virtual.

The recurrence rate of lung cancer is considered to be particularly high, even when the disease is diagnosed early: in 66% of patients diagnosed in stage 2 and 76% of patients discovered in stage 3, the disease returned within a five-year period from diagnosis. This is despite the fact that, after diagnosis, the patients were analyzed and the tumor removed from their bodies.

The only treatment given to these patients today is surgery followed by chemotherapy. The study indicates, as mentioned, the first drug treatment that can be given to these patients with great success in preventing the recurrence of the disease.

The drug is given in Israel

"This study is a great victory. It exceeded our expectations," said Dr. Roy Herbst, lead researcher, director of the Yale Cancer Center's Oncology Department, "targeted therapy that significantly hinders the recurrence of patients with lung cancer is an important advance. We can now treat patients earlier. "

Lung cancer is the deadliest in Israel, causing about 2,500 Israelis to die each year. About one-third of all those with cancer die.

In light of the unique results, the treatment is expected to undergo a fast-track as early treatment by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The drug "Tagriso" is registered and given in Israel to patients with EGFR mutation for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer.