It could save the lives of thousands of patients. One tablet has been shown to halve the risk of death from a certain type of lung cancer, when taken daily after surgery to remove the tumor. The stunning results of this clinical trial were presented this Sunday in Chicago, at the largest annual conference of cancer specialists.
Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer, causing about 1.8 million deaths each year worldwide. This treatment developed by the pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca, osimertinib (marketed under the name Tagrisso), targets a particular type of lung cancer, called "non-small cell". It is the most common form: it affects 10% to 25% of lung cancer patients in the United States and Europe, and 30% to 40% in Asia.
The clinical trial included 680 participants at an early stage of the disease (stages 1b to 3a), in more than twenty countries. They must have had surgery first to remove the tumor. Then half of the patients took the treatment daily, and the other half a placebo.
"Impressive" data
As a result, taking the tablet resulted in a 51% reduction in the risk of death for treated patients, compared to placebo. After five years, 88% of patients who took the treatment were still alive, compared to 78% of patients who took placebo.
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The data is "impressive," Roy Herbst of Yale University, who presented it in Chicago, said in a statement. The drug helps "prevent the disease from spreading to the brain, liver and bones," he added at a news conference.
About one-third of cases of "non–small cell" cancers can be operated on when detected. "It's hard for me to say how important these results are," said Nathan Pennell of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. We have entered the area of personalized therapies for early stage patients, we should close the door to undifferentiated treatment for all," namely chemotherapy.
Already authorized in several countries
Osimertinib is already licensed in dozens of countries, and has been given to about 700,000 people, according to a statement from AstraZeneca. Its approval in the United States in 2020 for the indication concerned here was based on previous data, which showed an improvement in the survival of patients without disease, that is to say the time lived without recurrence of cancer.
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But not all doctors have adopted the treatment yet, and were waiting for overall survival data, presented Sunday, Roy Herbst explained. He stressed the need to "screen patients" to find out if they have this type of cancer.
"Otherwise we cannot use this new treatment," said the oncologist. Osimertinib causes side effects, such as severe fatigue, skin redness or diarrhea.
