New drug shows dramatic effect in shrinking lung cancer tumours

A new drug is having a dramatic effect on shrinking lung cancer tumours, according to new research.

A trial testing the drug zongertinib as a first treatment for people with advanced lung cancer who have a HER2 genetic mutation shows it can eradicate tumours in some people while reducing their size in others.

HER2 mutations occur in both people with lung cancer caused by smoking and in lung cancer cases where people have never smoked.

Professor Sanjay Popat, consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London, who presented the findings at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Berlin, said they were “highly significant”.

The study involved patients who had not had any prior treatment for their advanced lung cancer, who then took zongertinib as a daily pill.

The results showed that, overall, 77% of patients saw their tumours shrink, 8% saw them completely disappear, and 69% saw partial shrinkage of their tumours.

Overall, 96% of patients in the study saw their disease controlled as a result of taking zongertinib as their first line of treatment.

Prof Popat said: “The results of this study are highly significant and mean new hope for lung cancer patients with the HER2 genetic mutation.

“Previously there has been no targeted therapy for these patients and they’re often put on intense treatment plans with chemotherapy with a lot of side effects.

“These initial findings show that by directly switching off the abnormal HER2 mutant lung cancer with zongertinib, we have a new opportunity to improve patient outcomes and also enable them to have a better quality of life.”

The study was run at 85 sites globally and included 74 patients aged between 35 and 88.

Earlier research used zongertinib on people who have undergone other treatments – this is the first study looking at it as a first-line treatment.

A final phase III trial will now be carried out, where the targeted drug will be tested against other forms of treatment such as chemotherapy.

Royal Marsden patient Susan Gasson, 74, from London, was diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer after suffering a persistent cough. She became eligible for the drug.

She said: “I have been under the care of the Royal Marsden for the past 40 years, due to previously being diagnosed and treated for breast, cervical and thyroid cancer.

‘My initial treatment for my lung cancer consisted of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy which left me with a lot of side effects.

“However, despite the treatment, my cancer returned. I didn’t want to undergo that same treatment again, so when it was suggested that I join the trial I was delighted.

“I have been on the trial drug for over two years, my cancer has shrunk, and the side effects have been minimal, allowing me to have a much better quality of life.

“Thanks to this trial I have seen my first granddaughter go off to university in September and I hope to see her graduate in three years’ time.”

More than 49,000 cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year. Up to 4% of lung cancers are driven by HER2 mutations.