A new therapy against lung cancer in patients who have already brain metastases it is also available in Italy. The new treatment manages to block the progression of the disease even for years.
The Italian Medicines Agency gave the green light for the reimbursement of lorlatinib for patients diagnosed with ALK-positive advanced non-small cell cancer. It’s about a particularly aggressive form of neoplasm. So this news only concerns a small part of Italians with a lung cancer. This is 5% of the total. However, patients who will benefit from the effects of Iorlatinib are generally:
under fifty years of agetherefore on average young;
Non-Smoking or smokers who have stopped smoking many years ago; people who present metastasis to the brain already at the time of diagnosis.
How does the new lung cancer therapy work?
The new drug has many strings to its bow:
first of all manages to overcome the blood-brain barrierdirectly affecting metastases present in the brain;
it is also effective in patients already treated with other therapies, during which, however, the disease implemented resistance mechanisms; there therapy is in tablets to be taken at home daily. It consequently improves the quality of life of patients.
This is why AIFA’s approval took two situations into consideration:
in the first line patients with advanced non-small cell cancer, with ALK translocation, who have not taken tyrosine kinase inhibitors; in the second line those who had already received treatments that no longer work in their case.
New therapy against lung cancer: here are the data that convinced AIFA
The Italian Medicines Agency based its green light on the results of the studio CROWN. Lorlatinib has been shown to be more effective than standard care. The research took place in 104 hospitals in 23 countries around the world. Almost 300 patients involved.
The results leave no room for doubt:
72% of participants saw their brain metastases disappear. However, a further 10% had an intracranial response;
in 64% of patients three years after starting lorlatinib the disease had not progressedcompared to 19% of those taking standard therapy;
side effects are well tolerated – the most common are increased cholesterol and triglycerides, with weight gain – and they can be managed.
Why are genetic tests so important?
Genetic testing becomes crucial in the treatment of lung cancer, which remains one of the most dangerous and widespread. Last year alone 44,000 people got sick. One of the main problems is that the diagnosis is made late, with the consequence that the disease is already advanced, reducing the chances of recovery. We know that at first this tumor does not give specific signs of its presence.
There are different types of lung cancer. It is essential to understand what genetic mutations cause it. In addition to the one in question, the ALK, the most widespread are the EGFR and the RET. With genetic tests it is possible to identify the most suitable treatment for the individual patient.