{"id":4046,"date":"2017-06-09T21:44:58","date_gmt":"2017-06-09T21:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4046"},"modified":"2017-06-09T21:44:58","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T21:44:58","slug":"new-drugs-making-progress-against-lung-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4046","title":{"rendered":"New drugs making progress against lung cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lung cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. At one time 90 percent of the people who developed lung cancer died from the disease. The number is better now, but the death rate for lung cancer is still one of the highest for any form of cancer.<\/p>\n

The five-year survival rate today for lung cancer is still only about 17.7 percent and more than half the people who are diagnosed die within a year. However, early detection is key. Lung cancer is a bitch about metastasing to other parts of the body. If it can be caught early while still localized in the lung, the five-year survival rate jumps to 55 percent.<\/p>\n

They haven’t found a cure, of course, but no drugs are making big progress on lung cancer, as well as prostate and breast cancers.<\/p>\n

One of the main drugs used against a certain kind of lung cancer (that younger people and nonsmokers tend to get) is Xalkori, makde by Pfizer. This new drug is called Alecensa, made by Roche.<\/p>\n

The AP did a big story on this last week. From the story:<\/a><\/p>\n

“Roche\u2019s Alecensa stopped cancer growth for 15 months longer than Pfizer\u2019s Xalkori did in a study of 303 people with advanced lung cancer and a mutation in a gene called ALK. About 5 percent of lung cancer patients \u2014 12,500 in the U.S. each year \u2014 have an ALK mutation, especially younger people and nonsmokers who get the disease.<\/p>\n

Alecensa kept cancer from worsening for 26 months versus 11 months for Xalkori. It also penetrates the brain better: Only 9 percent of those on it had their lung cancer spread to the brain during the first year of treatment versus 41 percent of those on Xalkori. Serious side effects and deaths were less common with Alecensa.<\/p>\n

The federal Food and Drug Administration approved it in December 2015 for ALK-related lung cancers that worsened despite trying Xalkori. The new study tested it as initial treatment and is aimed at getting full approval for that.<\/p>\n

Xalkori is around $10,000 a month and Alecensa about $12,500.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, this drug extends the life of lung cancer patients by two years on the average.<\/p>\n

Look at the price tag, though. Imagine trying to pay for that without medical coverage.<\/p>\n

Obviously not a cure, but maybe making a dent in that terrible survival rate. Incredible with the advances in treating cancer, especially childhood leukemia, that they have made so little progress in treating lung cancer. I think that is partly because of the stigma that continues to surround lung cancer compared to other kinds of cancer.<\/p>\n

Another promising front is immunotherapy with drugs such as Keytruda (this is an esperimental drug taken by Jimmy Carter when he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer a few years ago and he’s still kicking). I’ve written about this before.<\/p>\n

From a Medscape article:<\/a><\/p>\n

The overall response rate (ORR) of 45% reported for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) first-line is unprecedented, Dr Soria said. Together with the superior progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), as well as the better tolerability, when compared with chemotherapy, these findings indicate that pembrolizumab is now “the new gorilla” in the treatment of (non-small cell lung cancer), and probably a new standard of care, he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There was also good news on the breast cancer and prostate cancer fronts. A new drug called Zytiga delayed cancer growth for 18 months for men with advanced prostate cancer, while a drug called Lynparza helped delay breast cancer growth for seven months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lung cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. At one time 90 percent of the people who developed lung cancer died from the disease. The number is better now, but the death rate for lung cancer is still one of the highest for any form of cancer. The five-year survival rate today for … Continue reading New drugs making progress against lung cancer<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[864,833,35],"tags":[497,599],"class_list":["post-4046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-immunotherapy","category-keytruda","category-lung-cancer","tag-keytruda","tag-lung-cancer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/what-is-mesothelioma-lung-cancer.jpg?fit=496%2C482&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-13g","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3931,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3931","url_meta":{"origin":4046,"position":0},"title":"Jimmy Carter on the forefront of possible breakthrough in lung cancer drug","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"August 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Jimmy Carter was diagnosed about a year ago with advanced\u00a0liver cancer that had metastasized into his brain and other organs. Usually, for a 90-year-old man, the prognosis is not good. However, a year later, Carter is at the moment cancer-free and apparently has no plans of dying any time soon.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Keytruda"","block_context":{"text":"Keytruda","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=833"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160616-jimmy-carter-cancer-1215p_e510b4c7e214f042414c426212d131b0.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3171,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3171","url_meta":{"origin":4046,"position":1},"title":"New drug uses body’s own immune system to fight lung cancer","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"April 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting story from NBC News. A new drug, called Keytruda, can apparently use the body's own immune system among some patients to fight both lung cancer and melanoma. According to the NBC News article: Garon's team tested Keytruda in 495 lung cancer patients. The drug targets mutations in genes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lung cancer"","block_context":{"text":"Lung cancer","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/lung-health.gif?fit=659%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/lung-health.gif?fit=659%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/lung-health.gif?fit=659%2C518&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4191,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4191","url_meta":{"origin":4046,"position":2},"title":"Keytruda, a new hope","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"September 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The issue of Keytruda has become near and dear to my heart the past few weeks with a close family member taking it to treat his lung cancer. Keytruda is an immunotherapy drug that instead of poisoning the body, uses the body's own immune system to attack cancer cells. It's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Keytruda"","block_context":{"text":"Keytruda","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=833"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/thumb_72345-644x401.jpg?fit=644%2C401&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/thumb_72345-644x401.jpg?fit=644%2C401&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/thumb_72345-644x401.jpg?fit=644%2C401&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4198,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4198","url_meta":{"origin":4046,"position":3},"title":"Immune therapy breakthrough for cancer wins Nobel","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"October 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Two medical researchers, James Allison of the U.S. and Tasuku Honjo of Japan, were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine this week for their breakthrough research in harnessing the body's own immune system to fight cancer. Allison and Honjo's breakthroughs came way back in the 1990s. Their research eventually led\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Immunotherapy"","block_context":{"text":"Immunotherapy","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=864"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/8B0F56D5-4A1D-4D0B-B304DF716B27D2A6.jpg?fit=590%2C393&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/8B0F56D5-4A1D-4D0B-B304DF716B27D2A6.jpg?fit=590%2C393&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/8B0F56D5-4A1D-4D0B-B304DF716B27D2A6.jpg?fit=590%2C393&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1352,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=1352","url_meta":{"origin":4046,"position":4},"title":"Good news everyone! Cancer death rate drops 20 percent in 20 years; Lung cancer death rate down 34 percent","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"January 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I wrote about this several months ago. The cancer death rate in the U.S. has dropped dramatically in the past few years, especially for lung cancer. Three reasons: 1) Better treatment 2) Better detection and a big one 3) a drop in the smoking rate According to this study from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cancer"","block_context":{"text":"Cancer","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"professor farnsworth","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/professor-farnsworth.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4141,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4141","url_meta":{"origin":4046,"position":5},"title":"Cancer rate keeps dropping","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"January 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"According to information from the American Cancer Society, the\u00a0 cancer rate 2015 dropped 1.7 percent. While that may not sound like a big number, first, it's part of a long-term trend in which the mortality rate for cancer has dropped 26 percent\u00a0 over the past 25 years (which translates into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cancer"","block_context":{"text":"Cancer","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/X2KK32TKZE4SVEN7A4XNFF2TJY.jpg?fit=1200%2C488&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/X2KK32TKZE4SVEN7A4XNFF2TJY.jpg?fit=1200%2C488&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/X2KK32TKZE4SVEN7A4XNFF2TJY.jpg?fit=1200%2C488&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/X2KK32TKZE4SVEN7A4XNFF2TJY.jpg?fit=1200%2C488&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/X2KK32TKZE4SVEN7A4XNFF2TJY.jpg?fit=1200%2C488&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}