Daily Lung Cancer Pill After Surgery Slashes Death Risk By Half, Study Finds

A recent study has brought renewed attention to a cancer medication that was originally used to prevent metastasis.

Surprisingly, this medication has been found to reduce death from lung cancer by half, offering promising outcomes for patients.

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. among both men and women. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 127,070 people in the U.S. die from lung cancer each year. Other than medication, doctors have come to rely on processes like acupuncture, dietary supplements, massage therapy, and hypnosis to provide some relief to the cancer patients.

Now, a new study, led by Yale University and was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago, found that taking osimertinib following surgery resulted in a remarkable 51% reduction in the risk of patient mortality, The Guardian reported.

The Adaura trial--involving 682 patients from 26 countries, aged between 30 and 86--was conducted to determine if a pill could help those with the most common type of lung cancer, called non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), iNews reported.

All the study participants had a mutation of the EGFR gene, which was found in about a quarter of global lung cancer cases, and accounts for as many as 40% of cases in Asia.

NSCLC is more likely to be found in women, especially those who never smoked or were light smokers.

Approximately half of the patients participating were administered the medication, developed by AstraZeneca and commonly referred to as Tagrisso, compared the effects of the drug against a placebo group of early-stage NSCLC, who had EGFR.

Despite undergoing surgery and receiving additional chemotherapy, a considerable number of these patients faced cancer recurrence. The primary objective of the trial was to investigate whether the drug could offer protection or delay the return of cancer.

Osimertinib slashed the risk of death by 51% compared to placebo.

Praising the drug, Dr. Roy Herbst, the deputy director of Yale Cancer Center and lead author of the study, said: "Thirty years ago, there was nothing we could do for these patients. Now we have this potent drug. Fifty percent is a big deal in any disease, but certainly in a disease like lung cancer, which has typically been very resistant to therapies."

"This is a pretty dramatic and remarkable improvement," Dave Fredrickson, executive vice president of oncology at AstraZeneca, said, referring to the drug, according to iNews.