New drug a “remarkable advancement in lung cancer”
01 June 2024
Updated results from a Peter Mac-led international clinical trial have shown how a new drug represents a “remarkable advancement in lung cancer”.
Five-year, progression-free-survival data has just been published for the CROWN study which involved 296 patients with previously untreated ALK-positive, advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).
Patients in this Phase III trial were randomized to receive either the new drug lorlatinib or an earlier treatment crizotinib.
Five years after treatment, 60% of patients treated with lorlatinib remained alive and without disease progression and this compared to just 8% for patients who received crizotinib.
The updated results also show an 81% reduction of risk of progression or death, and 94% reduction in progression of brain metastasis, compared to crizotinib.
Peter Mac’s Professor Ben Solomon, as principal investigator for the CROWN study, has just presented these results at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual scientific meeting now underway in Chicago, USA.
“ALK-positive advanced NSCLC is typically aggressive and often impacts younger people in the prime of their lives,” Prof Solomon says.
“This updated analysis shows that lorlatinib helped patients live longer without disease progression, with the majority of patients experiencing sustained benefit for over five years, including nearly all patients having protection from progression of disease in the brain.”
“These improvements in outcomes for patients with ALK-positive NSCLC represent a remarkable advancement in lung cancer.”
These results are simultaneously published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related death around the world. NSCLC accounts for approximately 80-85% of lung cancers, with ALK-positive tumors occurring in about 3-5% of NSCLC cases. Patients with this form of lung cancer are known to be at high risk of developing brain metastases.
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For more information contact the Peter Mac Communications team on 0417 123 048.
About Peter Mac
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a world leading cancer research, education and treatment centre and Australia’s only public health service dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer.