An already-available drug shows evidence of helping to increase the survival rate in patients with EGRF mutations of non-small cell lung cancer. — AFP
A pill has been shown to halve the risk of death from a certain type of lung cancer when taken daily after surgery to remove the tumour, according to clinical trial results presented on June 4 (2023).
The results were unveiled in Chicago, United States, at the largest annual conference of cancer specialists, hosted by the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Lung cancer is the form of the disease that causes the most deaths, with approximately 1.8 million fatalities every year worldwide.
The treatment called osimertinib targets non-small cell cancer – the most common type – that has a particular type of mutation.
These mutations, on what is called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), affect 10% to 25% of lung cancer patients in the US and Europe, and 30% to 40% in Asia.
The clinical trial included some 680 participants at an early stage of the disease (stages 1b to 3a), in more than 20 countries.
They were operated on first to remove the tumour, then half of the patients took the treatment daily, and the other half a placebo.
The result showed that taking the tablet resulted in a 51% reduction in the risk of death for treated patients, compared to the placebo group.
After five years, 88% of patients who took the treatment were still alive, compared to 78% of patients who took the placebo.
These data are "impressive," said medical oncologist Prof Dr Roy Herbst of Yale University, who presented them in Chicago.
The drug helps "prevent the cancer from spreading to the brain, to the liver, to the bones," he added at a press conference.
About a third of cases of non-small cell cancers can be operated on when detected, he said.
"It is hard for me to convey, I think, how important this finding is," said Prof Dr Nathan Pennell of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation at the press conference.
"We started entering the personalised therapy era for early stage patients," said the medical oncologist, who did not take part in the trials, and noted that "we should firmly close the door on one-size-fits-all treatment for people with non-small cell lung cancer."
Osimertinib is already authorised in dozens of countries for various indications, and has already been given to some 700,000 people, according to a press release from its developer AstraZeneca.
Its approval in the US for early stages in 2020 was based on previous data that showed an improvement in patient disease-free survival, i.e. the time a patient lives without a recurrence of cancer.
But not all doctors have adopted the treatment, and many were waiting for the data on overall survival that was presented recently, said Prof Herbst.
He stressed the need to screen patients to find out if they have the EGFR mutation.
Otherwise, he said, "we cannot use this new treatment."
Osimertinib, which targets the receptor, causes side effects that include as severe fatigue, skin rashes or diarrhoea. – AFP Relaxnews
