First Targeted therapy for better lung cancer treatment of adult patients

In a survey done in 2018, it was discovered that out of 9.6 million deaths due to cancer, 1.76 million cases were of lung cancer. Not only that, but lung cancer also accounts for 2.09 million cancer diagnoses every year. It is the second most common cancer in men and the fifth most common cancer in men and women combined.

According to Globocan 2018, in India, there were 48, 698 lung cancer cases in men and 19, 097 lung cancer cases in women in the year 2018 alone. In 40% of people with newly diagnosed lung cancer, cancer has already metastasized. That is why, although there are a lot of lung cancer treatments, cancer specialists, and lung cancer patients worldwide have been looking forward to a breakthrough.

First thing first, not every cancer specialist you consult will be up to date about the new advancements in lung cancer treatment. So, if you’re looking for advanced treatment for lung cancer in Delhi NCR, you can choose to consult an expert who keeps himself/herself updated like Dr. Manish Singhal.

As discussed above, top oncologists in Noida and worldwide who keep themselves updated, have information about the current improvements in lung cancer treatment and can help you get access to that treatment. Did you know about the first targeted therapy to treat an aggressive form of lung cancer, NSCLC, or Non-small-cell lung carcinoma with a mutation that leads to MET exon 14 skipping (METex14), was just approved by the FDA? Let’s talk about that.

The FIRST targeted therapy for aggressive NSCLC

According to researchers and cancer specialists in Delhi or anywhere in the world, non-small-cell lung carcinoma accounts for 85-90% of lung cancer diagnoses, i.e., it is the most common type of lung cancer. It is a group of epithelial lung cancers. METex14 metastatic NSCLC of the lot is not as common but accounts for about 3-4% of diagnosed metastatic NSCLC cases, according to cancer specialists. Now, does the percentage seem too low? It does. But, in the USA alone, 4000-5000 people are diagnosed annually with the same. Now, use the same calculations on the world population and see for yourself why this matters.

As discussed above, to cancer specialists’ delight, the FDA has recently approved Tabrecta (capmatinib, formerly INC280) for Non-small-cell lung carcinoma with a mutation that leads to MET exon 14 skipping (METex14), and this is great news.

Not only that, but the FDA also approved the FoundationOne CDx assay (F1CDx), a next-generation sequencing-based in vitro diagnostic device that is capable of detecting several mutations, along with Tabrecta as a companion diagnostic because it was the tool used by cancer specialists to test for mutations that lead to MET exon 14 skipping in the trial.

Why is this approval important?

Cancer specialists and cancer patients would agree that lung cancer has been worrying experts for a long time. The thing is, in most cases, lung cancer is found at metastatic stages. The lung cancer treatment options have been limited. This approval fills a gap in lung cancer treatment for METex14 patients who did not have a treatment option approved to specifically target the driver of their lung cancer. An added benefit of this approval is that Tabrecta is approved for first-line AND previously treated patients, irrespective of prior treatment type. In first-line patients, the response rate was 68%, and in previously treated patients, the response rate was 41%.

Some other great developments in lung cancer

This was a breakthrough in lung cancer treatment, especially for NSCLC. However, there have been some more approvals and achievements in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment recently. Some of these are:

·   FDA granted accelerated approval to lurbinectedin (ZEPZELCA) for adult patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer.

·   FDA approved a combination therapy of nivolumab plus ipilimumab and 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

·   Tagrisso, another lung cancer treatment, was proved to cut the chances of recurrence in NSCLC.

Parting words

The new developments and approvals in lung cancer treatment mean that the survival rate of lung cancer as a whole is going up with every breakthrough. It is being diagnosed faster, the treatment plans are changing, cancer specialists and researchers are working together to find the best options for lung cancer patients. So, today a lung cancer diagnosis should not be feared. You can simply learn more about the disease and consult a reputed cancer doctor like Dr. Manish Singhal, the best lung cancer doctor in Delhi NCR, to get more insights or the best treatment.