
Last year in the UKĀ over 60,000 cancer patients enrolled on clinical trials aimed atĀ improving cancer treatments and making them available to all.
This trial was looking at having either erlotinib, pemetrexed, or a combination of both for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread.
Doctors use surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy to treat non small cell lung cancer. But sometimes the cancer continues to grow or comes back after treatment. In this situation, you may have chemotherapy or a type of biological therapy called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
In this trial researchers were comparing treatments for locally advanced lung cancer, or lung cancer that had spread to another part of the body ( NSCLC). They compared
The aims of the trial were to
The trial team found having a combination of pemetrexed and erlotinib worked best. People having both drugs did have more side effects but these were manageable.
The trial recruited 240 people who were put into 1 of 3 groups at random. Neither they nor their doctors could decide which group they were in.
The trial team looked at the average length of time that people lived without any signs of the cancer growing. They found this was
The main side effects were
The number of people who had bad side effects was highest in the group having pemetrexed and erlotinib.
The findings from this trial show that those having treatment with pemetrexed and erlotinib lived longer without signs of their cancer growing. But these people also had more severe side effects from their treatment.
We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Dr Mayukh Das
Eli Lilly and Company Limited
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
Freephone 0808 800 4040
Last year in the UKĀ over 60,000 cancer patients enrolled on clinical trials aimed atĀ improving cancer treatments and making them available to all.