Combination treatments show the best lung cancer survival rates

Patients who have a specific kind of cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), have been shown to have better survival rates when they paired immunotherapy drugs alongside traditional chemotherapy, according to The National Cancer Institute. With the combination, trial participants were 51 percent less likely to have died within 10.5 months after treatment, and 69.2 percent were still alive a year after the treatment started. They also lived progression-free for nearly twice as long as those in the control group with an average of 8.8 months.

The clinical trials used (brand name Keytruda) which is in a class of drugs called checkpoint inhibitors that interact with PD-L1 proteins inside the NSCLC tumor cells. Success with this treatment validates progress within the ‘precision medicine’ strategy that relies on identifying and targeting specific biomarkers within the patient’s cancer to determine the best method of treatment and could eventually lead to gene-targeted therapies for this type of cancer. Such therapies already exist for tumors that show signs of mutations in the ALK or EGFR genes.

According to Roy Herbst of the Yale Cancer Center, combination treatments of this nature have been in the works for some time, and although the procedure was approved by the FDA last year, many practicing physicians were waiting for the Phase 3 trials to conclude last April before endorsing the method. While combining treatments did not dramatically increase the number of side effects for patients, those using Keytruda were significantly more likely to develop a condition called acute kidney injury, so those at risk for kidney problems will need to exercise particular caution.