Atezolizumab: Roche's new drug for lung cancer in India

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers globally.

In India, lung cancer constitutes 6.9% of all new cancer cases & 9.3% of all cancer-related deaths in both sexes.

There was a time when the survival rate of lung cancer was 15% worldwide but a little more than 5-7% in India. Today things have changed, over the last 10 years, the survival rate in lung cancer has increased from a median overall survival of 11 months to an overall 5-year survival rate of 17.8%.

The change has come thanks to the relentless work of different researchers, cancer specialists, and pharmaceutical companies to create better more effective treatments. 

The goal has been to have therapies that extend lives and are tolerable, particularly in the previously treated advanced and metastatic NSCLC setting. 

Enter Atezolizumab

Atezolizumab, under the name of Tecentriq, a first-of-its-kind immunotherapeutic, was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in 2016 for treating certain groups of patients with advanced bladder cancer.

Since then, it has received breakthrough status in different types of cancer. It is a monoclonal antibody medication. It is now used to treat urothelial carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

In recent years Atezolizumab has been approved in India, for the very first time, for the treatment of lung and bladder cancer.

Roche India has said in a statement, “Atezolizumab is the first cancer immunotherapy to receive approval in India for the first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) when given in combination with chemotherapy.”

Here we’ll discuss Atezolizumab’s approval for lung cancer in India. However, according to new information, in 2020 the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved Atezolizumab for the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in India.

Atezolizumab, in combination with nab-Paclitaxel (Chemotherapy), can now be used as a first-line treatment for TNBC patients.

Now, back to Atezolizumab’s approval for lung cancer in India.

Roche’s new drug Atezolizumab for lung cancer

In a clinical study, Atezolizumab has demonstrated improved survival outcomes, comparable safety profile, and improved quality of life in lung cancer. 

The concerned Phase III IMpower133 study, which eventually led to its approval for lung cancer in India, showed that it significantly improved overall survival or OS and progression-free survival or PFS for the very first time in over 20 long years for patients with Extensive-stage Small cell lung cancer. 

Atezolizumab is the first in a new class of immunotherapies called PD-L1 inhibitors. PD-L1 is a protein that helps keep immune cells at bay and saves non harmful cells in the body. It can trigger two brakes on cancer-fighting immune cells called T cells: PD-1 and B7.1. Atezolizumab targets PD-L1 and prevents it from triggering the PD-1 and B7.1 brakes on T cells, allowing the T cells to carry out their natural function and destroy cancer cells.

How is Atezolizumab delivered?

• Atezolizumab is administered as an intravenous injection (IV).
• It is given over 60 minutes for the first infusion. If there is no infusion reaction, over 30 minutes for each infusion thereafter.
• Treatment cycles are every 3 weeks (21 days)
• You may receive medications before the infusion to reduce allergic reactions.

The drug is now available to patients in India on the prescription of reputed cancer specialists.

In the end

Today Atezolizumab is transforming lives all over India and worldwide. It has helped thousands of lung cancer patients. However, if you are a lung cancer patient, it is extremely important to realize two things: firstly, Atezolizumab is not a magical drug, and secondly, it should not be chosen without consulting a cancer specialist.

Note

Dr. Manish Singhal is a top cancer doctor in Delhi NCR. He keeps himself updated about the new and innovative additions to cancer treatments around the world. He and his team have successfully recommended and administered Atezolizumab on multiple lung cancer patients since it’s approval.