Researchers report first success of targeted therapy in most common genetic subtype of non-small cell lung cancer

A new study by an international team of investigators led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists is the first to demonstrate that chemotherapy and a new, targeted therapy work better in combination than chemotherapy alone in treating patients with the most common genetic subtype of lung cancer. Published in The Lancet Oncology, the combination of chemotherapy and the targeted drug selumetinib was more effective than chemotherapy alone in a clinical trial involving patients with a form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that carries a mutation in the gene KRAS – a variety that represents about 20 percent of all NSCLC cases. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Jänne PA, et al. Selumetinib plus docetaxel for KRAS-mutant advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a randomised, multicentre, placebo-controlled, phase 2 study. The Lancet Oncology, Early Online Publication, 28 November 2012.