Another Breakthrough in the “Golden Age” of Cancer Research

Groundbreaking results from a recent medical trial reveal two drugs that may be able to work together to slow down the progression of lung cancer significantly.

“While this potential new treatment would only be available to a select group of people within the lung cancer community, it demonstrates the ongoing progress in our fight against the disease, improving treatment options, transforming care and, ultimately, helping people live well with lung cancer for longer,” says chief executive of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Paula Chadwick.

As of now, lung cancer is responsible for 1.8 million deaths every year. The standard drug on offer, osimertinib, allows for an average of about 16.6 months without further disease progression in patients diagnosed with advanced forms of lung cancer. The recent study worked with two drugs, amivantamab and lazertinib, and found that patients showed no disease progression after 23.7 months, on average. This era of cancer research is being coined the “golden age” as significant advancements are being made in understanding the disease and various treatment options. “The more treatment options we have, the more hope we bring to patients and families,” explains the trial’s principal investigator, Professor Raffaele Califano.