Study finds pill cuts risk of death from lung cancer by half

Clinical study presented at the U.S this Sunday, 4, points out that a pill demonstrated effectiveness in reducing by half the risk of death from certain types of lung cancer when taken daily after removal of the tumor. The research was released in Chicago during the largest annual conference of specialists in cancer, organized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco). Lung cancer is the deadliest, with around 1.8 million deaths each year worldwide. The osimertinib treatment, marketed under the name Tagrisso and developed by pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca, is targeted at those who suffer from so-called “non-small cell” cancer and who have a specific type of mutation. These mutations affect 10% to 25% of lung cancer patients in the United States and Europe, and between 30% and 40% in Asia. The clinical trial involved about 680 people who were in the early stages of the disease, in more than 20 countries. The patients had undergone surgery to remove the tumor. Then half of them took the daily treatment and the other half received a placebo. According to the study, taking the pill resulted in a 51% reduction in the risk of death for the treated patients, compared to the group that received the placebo. After five years, 88% of patients who received the treatment were still alive, compared with 78% of those who received the placebo. For Roy Herbst, from Yale University, who presented the research in Chicago, the data are “impressive”. He explains that the drug helps “prevent the disease from spreading to the brain, liver and bones”, he added. Approximately one third of cases of non-small cell cancer can be treated when detected, added Roy Herbst.