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The first randomised trial of a targeted agent versus immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in a biomarker-selected patient population – CUHK Medicine

Photo of Herbert Loong from CU Medicine

Oct 27, 2023, 04:23

The first randomised trial of a targeted agent versus immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in a biomarker-selected patient population – CUHK Medicine

” More than doubled lung cancer patients’ progression-free survival

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. It is also the cancer causing most deaths in Hong Kong, with about 4,000 cases every year. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for over 80% of all lung cancers.

CU Medicine joined an international study to investigate the effect of targeted therapy on newly diagnosed advanced or metastatic NSCLC patients. For NSCLC patients with rearranged during transfection (RET) fusion-positive, one of the lung cancer oncogenic drivers, the medicine demonstrated a significantly improved progression-free survival. Their mean progression-free survival more than doubled that of those received current first-line standard treatment.

This study represents the first randomised trial of a targeted agent versus immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in a biomarker-selected patient population. The study results showed that targeted therapy can be the first-line standard of care in untreated RET fusion-positive advanced NSCLC patients. Dr Herbert Loong, a member of the international research team and Associate Professor from the Department of Clinical Oncology at CU Medicine presented the results of this multi-national clinical trial at the ESMO – European Society for Medical Oncology Congress on 21 October 2023. Details of study have just been published in the leading international journal The New England Journal of Medicine.”

The first randomised trial of a targeted agent versus immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in a biomarker-selected patient population - CUHK Medicine