From 2015 to 2018, the overall cancer death rate in the United States fell by 2.3% per year for men and 2.1% per year for women—an unprecedented drop, led by accelerated decline in deaths from lung cancer and melanoma.
Genentech said its pivotal phase III OAK study of Tecentriq (atezolizumab) showed a median survival of 13.8 months, 4.2 months longer than those treated with docetaxel chemotherapy (median overall survival [OS]: 13.8 vs. 9.6 months; HR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.62 - 0.87).
Genentech announced positive results for Tecentriq (atezolizumab) from the Phase III study OAK. The study met its co-primary endpoints and showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival compared with docetaxel chemotherapy in people with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose disease progressed on or after treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy.
Results from a pre-specified interim analysis from the phase III J-ALEX study found that Alecensa (alectinib) reduced the risk of disease worsening or death by 66 percent compared to (Xalkori) crizotinib in Japanese people with advanced or recurrent ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (HR=0.34, 99% CI: 0.17-0.70, p<0.0001) who had not received prior treatment with an ALK inhibitor.
Patients with advanced metastatic lung cancer treated with atezolizumab, a targeted immunotherapy drug, lived significantly longer and with fewer side effects than those who received docetaxel chemotherapy, according to a study published in The Lancet.
Merck Serono will discontinue its worldwide clinical development program of MUC1 antigen-specific immunotherapy tecemotide as a monotherapy in stage III non-small cell lung cancer. This includes the phase III START2 and INSPIRE studies.
