A newly developed dual-action drug, when combined with chemotherapy, has helped extend the lives of patients with a hard-to-treat lung cancer by an average of 15 per cent, a recent trial has revealed.
The investigational treatment, known as Ivonescimab, effectively disables the “off” switch employed by tumours to evade the immune system, uncloaking cancer cells and allowing the body to recognise and fight the disease. It also targets a specific protein used by tumours to build new blood vessels and grow.
Experts have described the findings as a “promising step forward” for patients with advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer, but acknowledged the need for further investigation.
Lung cancer remains a significant health challenge in the UK, with about 50,200 new cases diagnosed annually.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85 per cent to 90 per cent of all diagnoses, while squamous non-small cell lung cancers make up approximately 30 per cent of NSCLC cases.
The study, which is published in The Lancet and is being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, included 532 people in China with previously untreated advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer.
Patients were either given ivonescimab and chemotherapy or another immunotherapy medication, tislelizumab, plus chemotherapy.
The trial found patients in the ivonescimab group lived an average of 28 months compared to 24 months among those in the tislelizumab group, an increase of about 15%.
Researchers described the results as “statistically significant and clinically meaningful”, adding: “This regimen could provide a novel treatment option as first-line treatment in this patient group.”
Side effects were more common among those on the newly developed drug, which is not yet licensed in the UK.
Despite this, rates of patients stopping treatment because of side effects were similar across both groups at 5 per cent.
It is estimated that lung cancer causes 32,800 deaths in the UK every year – the equivalent of 90 every day.
The disease is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
Reacting to the findings, Dr Dani Skirrow, research information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “This is a promising step forward for people with advanced lung cancer and suggests this new treatment combination could help patients live longer when options are limited.
“But it’s still early days. We need more time to understand how long people benefit for, and whether the results hold true across a wider range of patients.
“There was a small increase in people experiencing side effects with this treatment, so further studies will be important to fully understand its risks and how it might be used in the future.”
