Breakthrough Drug Receives FDA Approval for Aggressive Lung Cancer Treatment

Breakthrough Drug Receives FDA Approval for Aggressive Lung Cancer Treatment
Breakthrough Drug Receives FDA Approval for Aggressive Lung Cancer Treatment. Credit | Shutterstock

United States – The U. S. Food and Drug Administration gave initial approval of the new drug, which was intended to treat patients with an aggressive form of lethal lung cancer, on Thursday.

Targeted Treatment for Desperate Cases

Noteworthy, tarlatamab (Imdelltra) is only for patients who have, apart from these options, exhausted all means to treat extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, as reported by HealthDay.

A Milestone Moment for Patients

“The FDA’s approval of Imdelltra marks a pivotal moment for patients battling [extensive-stage small cell lung cancer],” Dr. Jay Bradner, executive vice president of research and development and chief scientific officer at drug maker Amgen, said in a company news release. “Imdelltra offers hope to these patients who urgently need new innovative therapies, and we’re proud to deliver this long-awaited effective treatment to them.”

Promising Survival Rates

A tarlatamab study demonstrated an improvement of 3 times in patients’ length of life with a median survival time of 14 months. But not everyone benefited: Forty percent of action responders.

“After decades of minimal advancements in the [small cell lung cancer] treatment landscape, there is now an effective and innovative treatment option available,” Laurie Fenton Ambrose, co-founder, president, and CEO of GO2 for Lung Cancer, said in the Amgen news release.

According to Dr. Anish Thomas, a lung cancer specialist from the National Cancer Institute who was not involved in the study, Tarlatamab comes in after more than ten years of no major treatment advances for this subtype of lung cancer.

“I feel it’s a light after a long time,” he told the New York Times.

Hope Amidst Challenges

The drug has proven effective. However, it does have a serious side effect called the cytokine release syndrome, the FDA explained. That is the time the immune system goes berserk and flares up; an instant headache, increased heartbeat, and low blood pressure will follow.

In small-cell lung cancer, the disease is usually in the progressing stage of metastasis to other organs when it is diagnosed. The traditional treatment is systemic chemotherapy in addition to immunotherapies that add two months to patients’ lifespan, according to the Times.

The majority of those patients live between 8 and 13 months after the diagnosis, although they receive chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment. Many patients chosen to participate in the Amgen trial had already had two or even three rounds of chemotherapy, which is exactly the reason why their life expectancy without the drug was so short.

Patients enrolled in the clinical trial share that they have a new hope for a second chance at life.

Martha’s Story: A Testament to Hope

Watkins Martha, 66 years old and from Westerly, Rhode Island, would have been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer the previous year. Following the course of chemotherapy and immunotherapy sessions, her cancer was so fast spreading that she was enlisted into the Amgen study and began receiving the drug that was channeled into her veins, as reported by HealthDay.

The cancer-shrink process started almost from the beginning.

“I feel as normal as I did before I had cancer,” Warren told the Times. “There’s a lot of hope with this drug.”