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The combination of two drugs has resulted in a very significant advance in the fight against extended-stage microcytic lung cancer - a very aggressive type that is difficult to treat. The conclusions of a study testing an immunotherapy for this particular type of the disease, in which oncologists from the Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Victoria in Malaga and the Virgen de Rocio in Seville have participated, were confirmed by pharmaceutical company Roche.
The data was presented during a session at the American society of clinical oncology (ASCO) 2025 annual meeting. Roche announced positive results from the phase III IMforte trial, which is evaluating the combination of the immunotherapy drug Tecentriq (atezolizumab) with the chemotherapy drug Zepzelea (lurbinectedin) as first-line maintenance treatment for people with extended-stage small-cell lung cancer after induction therapy with carboplatin, etoposide and Tecentriq.
This combination reduced the risk of disease progression by 46% and the risk of death by 27%, compared to Tecentriq monotherapy.
Tecentriq is a monoclonal antibody designed to bind to a protein present on tumour and immune cells by infiltrating the tumour. It has been approved to treat some of the most aggressive cancers.
"Small-cell lung cancer is an aggressive and devastating disease. At the time of diagnosis, the vast majority of patients already have extensive disease and only one in five survive more than two years," said Dr Luis Paz-Ares, head of the medical oncology department at the Hospital Universitario and principal investigator of the IMforte study. "The results of IMforte are very encouraging and show an option with the potential to change clinical practice, which could improve survival in patients with a high unmet medical need," he added.
"In the IMforte study, the Tecentriq and lurbinectedin maintenance regimen significantly prolonged survival in people with extended-stage small-cell lung cancer," said Dr Levi Garraway, Roche's chief medical officer and head of global product development. "This study confirms the already known safety and efficacy profile of Tecentriq as the first approved immunotherapy for this type of cancer and demonstrates our commitment to helping physicians and patients better manage this aggressive disease," he added.
Patients in the IMforte study received four cycles of Tecentriq combined with chemotherapy for approximately three months before being randomised to maintenance therapy. From the time of randomisation, median overall survival (OS) with the Tecentriq plus lurbinectedin regimen was 13.2 months versus 10.6 months with Tecentriq alone.
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