Ua day full of hope for people with lung cancer. With the publication of the determination in Official Journal, in fact, theItalian Medicines Agency has authorized for first-line reimbursement of the drug lorlatinib (third generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor).
Lung cancer, the third most frequent neoplasm in women
«Lung cancer is the third most frequent neoplasm in women. And the type of these tumors has shifted from clearly smoking-related tumors (squamous cell carcinomas) to tumors that may not even be related to smoking”, explains the Doctor Giulia Suigo, Medical Assistant in Pneumology at the IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital in Rozzano. «With this obviously the However, smoking represents the greatest risk factor. We must think about the opposite: young non-smoking patients more frequently have adenocarcinoma-type tumors, and it is these that actually now have many more treatment options and for which there are new drugs aimed at specific molecular targets (such as ALK)”.
Lung cancer, who can benefit from the new treatment and who cannot
However, the new therapeutic possibility is not for everyone. TO be able to benefit from itin fact, they will be only adult patients suffering from a particular type of lung cancer which preferentially – but not exclusively – affects i Non-Smoking. It’s about the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in advanced stage Alk positive. Furthermore, patients suitable for the new drug must not have been treated previously.
The news of Lorlatinib
«The drug is already available and used, the novelty is that the indication for treatment is broader, that is, it can be used on more patients», explains the Doctor Giulia Suigo, Medical Assistant in Pneumology at the IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital in Rozzano.
«In fact, the treatment can also be extremely different for two patients with the same neoplastic disease depending on the mutational status and the stage of the disease. So, for example, two patients with ALK mutated lung adenocarcinoma may receive different treatments depending on how many and which organs are affected by the disease. It is completely normal that not all patients can access all drugs even if they have the same type of tumor”, adds the expert.
The new drug can reduce the progression of the disease by 73%.
As reported by theHandle“the drug led to a reduction in the risk of progression of disease equal to 73%. This is a further step forward in the treatment of this neoplasmpresent in 5-7% of Nsclc cases and with one higher incidence in younger patients under 50 preferentially Non-Smokingwhose disease responds much less to standard chemotherapy.”
A very aggressive tumor
Only in Italy, the Lung cancer is the second most frequent neoplasm in men (15%) and the third in women (6%), as well as causing a higher number of deaths than any other form of cancer. According to the data Aiom-Airtum, Italian Association of Medical Oncology, “last year in Italy approximately 44 thousand new diagnoses were estimated. The majority of cases correspond to Nsclc histology.”
At this link the PDF publication of all the data on cancer in Italy.
The new drug and brain metastases
Within this group, research has identified numerous molecular alterations that can determine the onset and development of the neoplastic pathology. Among these, thealteration of the Alk gene which represents an important therapeutic target. THE patients with Nsclc Alk+ have a high incidence of brain metastases (up to 40%).
«These patients are younger than averagemainly Non-Smoking and in good general condition, but with ahigh incidence of brain metastases. The central nervous system is a frequent site of disease progression for them; therefore, the prevention of brain metastases during the first line of treatment has a fundamental role”, explains ad Handle Silvia Novello, Professor of Oncology at the Department of Oncology of the University of Turin and president of Walce Onlus, organization dedicated to people affected by lung cancer and their families.
Finally refundable
This medication is designed specifically for overcome the blood brain barrier And act at a cerebral levelas well as to be active in patients already treated who have developed resistance.
Today it is also reimbursed as a first-line monotherapy.
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