Pascale Institute: with immunotherapy, lung cancer mortality decreases

Naples, – A new hope is ignited for patients affected by non-small cell lung cancer, one of the most aggressive and frequent neoplasms in Italy.

Thanks to the introduction of immunotherapy, used before and after surgery or in combination with chemotherapy, survival rates have improved significantly. This was confirmed by researchers at the Istituto Tumori Pascale of Naples, who presented the results of the latest studies on the subject.

With 44.000 new diagnoses per year, lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer in our country, preceded only by breast cancer. In advanced cases, when surgery is no longer feasible, the focus of therapy shifts to controlling metastases.

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Until 2010, no treatment had been shown to significantly extend patients' life expectancy. "In the past, only 5,5% of patients in advanced stages treated with chemotherapy were alive five years after diagnosis," reads a note from the Pascale Institute.

Today, however, the situation has changed radically. “With immunotherapy, five-year survival rates have more than doubled, exceeding 20%,” the experts explain. “Thanks to the use of antibodies that help the immune system recognize and destroy cancer cells, many patients are able to keep the disease stable and under control.”

Alessandro Morabito, director of the Thoraco-Pulmonary Complex Unit at the Pascale Institute, illustrated the results of the Keynote 671 study, which tested the efficacy of pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug, administered before or after surgery. “We observed a 40% reduction in the risk of disease progression and an improvement in mortality of about 30%,” Morabito said.

Encouraging results have also emerged from other international studies, such as Checkmate 816, Checkmate-77T and AEGEAN, conducted with immunotherapy drugs such as Nivolumab and Durvalumab. In these cases, a percentage of pathological complete responses (i.e. complete regression of the tumor) was recorded in 20% of patients treated with immuno-chemotherapy.

“Today we have numerous therapeutic strategies available for non-small cell lung cancer,” Morabito added. “Immunotherapy represents a turning point, offering patients a real chance of survival and quality of life.”

The data presented by the Pascale Institute confirm the importance of continuing to invest in research and therapeutic innovation, opening new perspectives for those fighting one of the most lethal forms of cancer.