AZ' Imfinzi bags new approval for lung cancer
AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) has been approved in the European Union for the first-line treatment of adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) in combination with a choice of chemotherapies, etoposide plus either carboplatin or cisplatin.
ES-SCLC is a highly aggressive, fast-growing form of lung cancer that typically recurs despite initial response to chemotherapy, highlighting the urgent need for new treatment approaches.
In the Phase III CASPIAN trial, Imfinzi plus chemotherapy demonstrated a significant overall survival (OS) benefit when used in the first-line setting (13.0 months versus 10.3 months for chemotherapy alone), as well as an increased objective response rate (68% versus 58%, respectively).
“This is the first immunotherapy regimen to offer both a sustained survival benefit and an improved response rate, as well as a choice of chemotherapies and convenient dosing every four weeks during maintenance,” said Dave Fredrickson, executive vice president, Oncology Business Unit, AZ.
“For the first time, patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer in Europe will have the option of an immunotherapy combination with cisplatin, a preferred chemotherapy for many European physicians in this setting,” added Luis Paz-Ares chair, Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Universitario Doce de Octubre, Madrid, Spain and principal investigator on the trial.
He also noted that Imfinzi's approval “provides physicians with an important new first-line treatment option that provides significant overall survival benefit with a well-tolerated treatment.”
1st September 2020
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