Lung cancer treatment: Pfizer's Lorbrena extends life in some non-small cell lung cancers
Pfizer’s lung cancer drug Lorbrena can extend life for patients with a rare form of the disease for years longer than other drugs, according to new research published Friday.
Pfizer’s lung cancer drug Lorbrena can extend life for patients with a rare form of the disease for years longer than other drugs, according to new research published Friday.
The drug treats a type of non-small cell lung cancer with a genetic mutation called ALK. Non-small cell lung cancers account for about 85% of lung cancer diagnoses, and ALK-positive cancers account for about 4% of those diagnoses — more than 70,000 people every year.
The cancer tends to occur in younger patients who are nonsmokers.
It’s also particularly deadly: ALK-positive lung cancers are especially adept at spreading to the brain. About 25% of patients have brain metastasis within the first two years of being diagnosed.
“As time moves on, that increases,” said Dr. Ben Solomon, head of lung medical oncology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia, who led the Pfizer-supported study.
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