Lung cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in the world and the deadliest cancer in Spain. In 2020 alone, 22,000 Spaniards lost their lives because of it. A new treatment based on a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy has shown positive results in clinical trials. Behind these trials are oncologists and patients from more than twenty Spanish hospitals.

Results of the clinical trial.
The group of researchers responsible for the study confirmed an improvement in the survival prospects of lung cancer patients treated with this drug combination. Specifically, they observed remission of the disease in 36% of cases, with remission in about 60% of cases. 93% of patients were eligible for surgery after receiving treatment, a figure exceeding the usual percentage of 69%.

The clinical trial was conducted in patients in the early stages of the disease, specifically stage IIIA. This is the most advanced stage in the early stages of the disease, before metastasis, which means the tumor is still localized.

What is chemoimmunotherapy?
The treatment the team has been analyzing for the past three years is called chemoimmunotherapy, a treatment that combines chemotherapy and immunotherapy at specific doses. This is one of the biggest promises in the fight against the disease. While chemotherapy attacks cancer cells, immunotherapy strengthens the immune system so it can better fight the disease. This strategy was proposed more than a decade ago, and thanks to these clinical trials, we now know that it has the ability to improve lung cancer patients’ chances of recovery in their early stages.

This disease-fighting strategy is also combined with surgery. In the clinical trial, chemoimmunotherapy was used to shrink or eliminate tumors before surgery. In the words of Mariano Provencio, compiled by RTVE, who led the immunotherapy study, “it’s not just another drug, it’s a new form of treatment because we can operate on more patients and we can save more lives.”

NADIM II study.
Provencio is president of the Spanish Lung Cancer Group (GEPC) and oncologist at University Hospital Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda in the Community of Madrid. GEPC is precisely the sponsor of this NADIM II study. The project describes GEPC, ​​a phase II trial of the use of this neoadjuvant therapy in patients with locally advanced and potentially resectable non-small cell lung cancer. Neoadjuvant refers to the fact that the main treatment (in this case surgery) administered before it is adjuvant treatment.

Phase II study.
The results, which were announced and Provencio will present at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, correspond to a three-year follow-up of phase II participants in trials of this treatment. They also appeared in an article in the magazine. Journal of Clinical Oncology. The second phase of the study implies that the safety of the treatment has already been tested and its main side effects have been identified. In this phase II, the goal was to confirm that the treatment was effective with positive results. Phase III is ongoing and GEPC hopes to have more than 200 participants to make it happen.

The fight against cancer is one of the biggest projects facing the scientific community today. It is unlikely that we will find a universal cure, it will be necessary to treat different types of cancer according to their characteristics and stage of development. Of course, prevention should also be key. As chemoimmunotherapy has been trialled in patients in the early stages of the disease, encouraging news has come in recent months for patients in later stages, the science is advancing and it’s hard to keep up. In any case, it’s important to keep in mind that the development of treatments is a long process and in this case, although efficacy has been proven, there is still a long way to go before they can be implemented.

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