The Italian Medicines Agency has authorized the front-line reimbursement of Lorlatinib, thus making the treatment of a particular type of lung cancer more accessible.
The drug in question appears to be indicated for a specific type of tumor, the so-called “NSCLC”, non-small cell lung cancer. This disease mostly affects the under 50 population, preferentially (but not exclusively) non-smokers, responding poorly to chemotherapy therapy.
In Europe, lung cancer is the second most common malignancy in men (after prostate cancer) and the third most common in women (after breast cancer and colorectal cancer). Every day in Italy around 115 people discover that they have lung cancer (for a total of 44 thousand new cases registered in 2023), which still remains difficult to treat because more than 70% of patients are diagnosed late, when the disease is already in an advanced stage: this is what makes the availability of drugs increasingly crucial.
Lorlatinib is a third generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which leads to a reduction in the risk of progression of the neoplasm by 73%, allowing a significant step forward in the treatment of this disease. It works by directly overcoming the blood-brain barrier and acting at the brain level. It is particularly suitable for patients already treated who have developed resistance. Now, it is reimbursable by the National Health Service from the first line of treatment.