Durvalumab with or without tremelimumab in addition to platinum based chemotherapy for extensive-stage disease small-cell lung cancer


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Therapeutic Areas: Lung and Respiratory Cancer
Year: 2019

Durvalumab with or without tremelimumab in addition to platinum based chemotherapy, is in clinical development for people with extensive-stage disease small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). SCLC is an aggressive type of lung cancer that is associated with smoking. The condition is often diagnosed at a late stage, when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (extensive-stage). If patients are fit enough, they may be given chemotherapy as first-line treatment, although the cancer will usually return quickly (within 6 months). The average length of survival from diagnosis is under 10 months.
There are few treatment options available for this condition, and the standard treatment of chemotherapy has not changed for several decades. Durvalumab and tremelimumab are a new kind of treatment for this cancer called immunotherapy that helps the body’s immune system to fight the cancer. These medicinal products are given by intravenous infusion together with chemotherapy. Durvalumab is already licensed in the UK for the treatment of a different type of lung cancer. The combination treatment may be more effective than either treatment alone, and could provide an additional treatment for patients who currently have few effective therapies.