Research shows that a “revolutionary” lung cancer pill can reduce the risk of the disease returning by more than 70 percent and halve the chance of dying within five years of treatment.
Surprising data, recently published in the New England Journal of Medicinehave led cancer specialists to refer to the drug, called osimertinib, as “breakthrough.”
The pill is approved by US drug chiefs for those with a genetic subtype of lung tumor, which affects about 60,000 patients.
These tumors are driven by a genetic mutation that triggers the release of a protein called EGFR, which helps the tumors grow.
Lung cancer was previously thought to be a “smoker’s disease,” but the discovery of genetic predispositions to the condition has shed light on a new group of patients.
But osimertinib, sold under the brand name Tagrisso, interferes with the signals sent by the gene, blocking the release of the protein and destroying cancer cells.
Dr. Faiz Bhora, chief of thoracic surgery and president of central region surgery at Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey, told Fox News Digital that the results of the drug trial were “momentous.”
“In the past, medical oncologists were happy with five or 10 percent survival, and now we’re talking about a survival improvement of more than 50 percent.”
Bhora, who prescribes the drug to his patients, said he had seen “groundbreaking” results in his own practice.
“We now have many targeted therapies that work well for patients who have mutations in their tumors,” he said.
Thoracic surgeon Dr Faiz Bhora says he has seen “groundbreaking” results from the drugs in his patients
Approximately 238,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year and 127,000 people die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
About 25 percent of these patients have the EGFR mutation.
Dr Bhora said: “We used to think that lung cancer was simply a smoker’s disease. We now know that more than 30 per cent of people who develop lung cancer have never smoked and that many of them are women.’
Those eligible to receive osimertinib, which can be taken as long as it works, include patients with EGFR at any stage of the disease and who have undergone prior treatment, such as surgery.
About 95 percent of insurance plans cover Tagrisso, including Commercial, Medicare and Medicaid.
One of the patients who will benefit is Kim Mosko, 67, of New Jersey.
In February 2023, the mother of two underwent surgery to remove a lung tumor that had grown outside the organ.
About 95 percent of insurance plans cover Tagrisso, including Commercial, Medicare and Medicaid.
She then received four rounds of chemotherapy, which ended at the end of June.
In July, his doctors detected the genetic mutation and suggested he take Tagrisso.
He didn’t need “any persuasion” to begin treatment, he told Fox, which is covered by his insurance.
Mrs. Mosko has now been taking the pill for three and a half months and hopes to take it every day for the next three years.
‘I don’t need to hope. I absolutely believe that this medication will ensure that the lung cancer does not come back. I am thinking of living many more years,” she said.
He has suffered some “manageable” side effects, including a skin rash, diarrhea and fatigue.
Kim Mosko, 67, has been taking the drug since July and says it has kept her cancer at bay.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. One in six people will be diagnosed with the disease during their lifetime in the United States.
A recent ACS report found that young women suffer higher rates of lung cancer than men.
Men were almost twice as likely as women to develop the disease in the 1980s, due to higher rates of smoking and workplace exposure to substances such as asbestos.
But with declining cigarette smoking and safety regulations, the pattern has changed: Young and middle-aged women are now diagnosed with the disease at a higher rate than men.
In 1992 there were around 65 new cases of lung cancer per 100,000 people and in 2019 the figure had dropped to around 42.
