One tablet halves the risk of death from a type of lung cancer

One pill has been shown to halve the risk of death from a certain type of lung cancer when taken daily after surgery to remove the tumour, results show “impressive” of a clinical trial presented on Sunday 4 June.

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Lung cancer is the cancer that causes the most deaths, with approximately 1.8 million deaths deplored each year worldwide. This treatment developed by the pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca, osimertinib (marketed under the name Tagrisso), concerns patients suffering from so-called “non-small cell” cancer (the most common form), and presenting a particular type of mutation. This concerns 10% to 25% of patients with lung cancer in the United States and Europe, and 30% to 40% in Asia.

According to this trial, taking the tablet resulted in a 51% reduction in the risk of death for treated patients, compared to placebo. After five years, 88% of patients who took the treatment were still alive, compared to 78% of patients who took the placebo.