(NewsNation) — A daily pill from drugmaker AstraZeneca cut the risk of death in half in a subset of patients with early-stage lung cancer who had undergone surgery, a new clinical study showed.
The drug is called osimertinib, and it’s sold under the name Tagrisso. It works by targeting specific receptors that help cancer cells grow.
The international study looked at 682 patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, which makes up 80%-85% of all lung cancers.
The results showed 88% of those who took osimertinib were still alive five years after their diagnosis, compared to 78% of the placebo group. This means the once-a-day pill reduced the overall risk of death from lung cancer by 51%.
The results of the trial were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting on Sunday and were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tagrisso is already approved for use in over 100 countries, including the U.S. In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug for people with more advanced lung cancer. In 2020, it was approved for early-stage versions of the disease.
