High hopes for lung cancer drug

PATIENTS suffering from lung cancer have been given new hope after a trial showed a drug can double the time people live before the disease progresses.

The first study in Western patients found erlotinib (Tarceva) could help people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer that has a genetic mutation.

The once-a-day pill, which spares patients the need for chemotherapy, was found to double the time people lived without their disease getting worse to 9.7 months - compared with 5.2 months for chemotherapy.

Lung cancer is a particularly deadly disease and has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers.

Overall, the drug led to a 63 per cent reduced risk of the disease getting worse compared with standard chemotherapy.

The research, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago, involved more than 1,200 patients.

Dr Marianne Nicolson, consultant medical oncologist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, said: "These results are very exciting.

"These new results demonstrate the excellent results that can be achieved when the treatment is used as initial therapy in selected patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer."