A clinical trial of phase 3 demonstrated that a new drug nivolumab (nivolumab) significantly improves the survival of patients with non-small cell lung cancer, according to an online edition for girls and women aged 14 to 35 years Pannochka. net The results of the test were published in The New England Journal of Medicine and were recently announced at the European Congress of Oncology 2015, which was held in the Austrian capital.
According to the information of the American Cancer Society, about 85-90% of cases of lung cancer occur in non-small cell lung cancer.
There are several main types of non-small cell lung cancer, including adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Treatment and prognosis for these types of cancer are usually very similar.
Lung cancer in the US - the cause of death number 1 among cancer, both in women and men. Lung cancer accounts for 27% of deaths associated with malignant diseases. From this cancer in America, more people die each year than from breast, intestine and prostate cancer combined.
In a recent study, US scientists compared the effectiveness of nivolumab and docetaxel in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Docetaxel is often used as a second-line drug.
All participants in the study before this were treated with platinum. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups: one received nivolumab (292 people), and the second received docetaxel (290 people). Treatment continued until the cancer began to progress, or until serious side effects developed.
After 12 months of therapy, 51% of participants remained alive in the group receiving niwolumab, while in the group that received docetaxel only 39%. After 18 months of therapy, survival rates were 39% and 23%, respectively.
Extension of life and improvement of its quality.
Researchers explain that the observed increase in survival rate in the treatment of nivolumab is associated with the high efficacy of the drug in tumors that secrete the protein PD-L1. This protein interferes with the ability of the immune system of patients to find and attack cancer cells, that is, protects the tumor.
In the course of the study, it was confirmed that the more the tumor releases the PD-L1 protein, the better the patients respond to niwolumab treatment. When treated with docetaxel, the result of therapy is completely independent of the ability of the tumor to excrete PD-L1.
The co-author of the study, Dr. Leora Horn, a researcher at the Vanderbildt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, stated in ECC 2015:
"The results of our study demonstrated that niwolumab is an excellent therapeutic option for patients who had previously been treated with platinum drugs. Nivolumab has fewer side effects than docetaxel and it provides patients with a higher quality of life ".
In addition, Professor Horn noted that patients with cancer, who smoked in the past, were significantly more likely to respond to niwolumab than non-smokers: 22% versus 9% for nivolumab and 11% versus 15% for docetaxel.
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