Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer across the globe and it is also one of the top reasons of mortality worldwide. A recent study has found a lung cancer drug that might be effective in extending the survival of lung cancer patients who undergo surgery. The study outlines remarkable outcomes of the lung cancer pill. The findings of the study have been released in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Experts who have been involved in the study have said that the lung cancer drug called osimertinib offered an overall survival benefit among patients with fully resected, EGFR-mutated, stage IB to IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The results of the study show that having Tagrisso, also called osimertinib, which is a once-daily medication, after tumor-removal surgery reduces the risk of death caused by common lung cancer by 51 percent among patients. The trial of the lung cancer drug enrolled 682 patients who were diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is one of the two leading forms of primary lung cancer.
All patients were found with a mutation in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene, which ciphers for a protein present on the surface of cells. EGFR mutations can improve the ability of cancer to grow and spread and it increases the risk of cancer reoccurrence after the treatment among patients.
The study has been led by experts from Yale University. The findings of the study also have been presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting. The co-author of the study, Dr. Roy Herbst said that earlier there was no such treatment available for such patients.
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Dr. Herbst is also the deputy chief of the Yale Cancer Centre in New Haven, Connecticut. However, with over 50 percent efficacy, this rug can do wonders for patients who deal with such a dreaded disease that is usually resilient to other treatments. In simple words, osimertinib prevents the impact of recurrent EGFR mutations. Nearly 25 percent of patients with lung cancer are found with these mutations.
