A new wonder drug call ‘Keytruda’ has stunned the medical world with its ability to beat lung cancer – and is now set to be a game changer in how the disease is treated.
Incredibly, the results of a trial where lung cancer patients were treated with Keytruda have shown it is three times more effective than chemotherapy.
At the at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Copenhagen, pharma company Merck, who make the Keytruda presented the “spectacular results”, showing that 50 per cent of lung cancer patients trialled found their cancer stopped spreading within 12 months.
The breakthrough drug works by removing the ‘disguise’ that makes cancer cells appear healthy. It exposes them, allowing the immune system to seek out the cancer cells more easily.
“This drug acts in a very amazing way,” says Westmead Hospital oncologist Associate Professor Rina Hui. “It takes away the blindfold, it releases the brake on the patient’s own immune system and they fight the cancer.
“Normally the patient has chemotherapy but even if they respond to that, it doesn’t last very long whereas the beauty of this drug is those patients who respond do so for a very long time.”
And it is no wonder doctors are getting so excited about the drug. Going by the results, Keytruda means patients won’t have to be put through gruelling chemo, and all the harrowing side effects that come with it.
“This drug has shown stage four lung cancer patients with a specific marker have a 70 per cent chance of living past 12 months without any need for chemotherapy treatment,” Professor Hui said.
