Taking a daily tablet of lorlatinib can improve the lives of patients with incurable lung cancer. According to an innovative study cited by ‘Telegraph‘, the drug prevented the disease from spreading for at least five years in 60% of patients tested, and in half of the participants the cancer had already spread to the brain. “The longest progression-free survival ever recorded,” the scientists explained.
This type of cancer is more common in young non-smokers and is often diagnosed at a later stage. The disease accounts for about 5% of non-small cell lung cancer cases.
“We have not often seen similar results in oncology, especially in non-small cell lung cancer. These are some of the best results we’ve seen in advanced disease in any setting…a truly important step forward in lung cancer treatment,” said David Spigel, scientific director of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute and a fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
By binding lorlatinib to a protein, the drug prevents the growth and development of tumor cells.
The drug was more effective than alternative treatment crizotinib, which on average delays the spread of cancer through the body by nine months and allows only 8% of patients to survive progression-free for five years.
In the UK, approximately 350 of the 49,000 people with lung cancer are diagnosed with this type of cancer each year.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal
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