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Immunotherapy Might Improve Survival Outcomes in Late-Stage Lung Cancer Patients

Immunotherapy could be the cure for late-stage lung cancer. Photo: Flickr Creative Commons
Immunotherapy could be the cure for late-stage lung cancer. Photo: Flickr Creative Commons

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that immunotherapy could improve survival outcomes in patients with an aggressive form of lung cancer. Florida Hospital Cancer Institute’s Dr. Mark Socinski says the drug should be a first-line treatment for patients.

“For patients diagnosed with lung cancer, make sure that you get the proper molecular staging done. Make sure the patient understands that immunotherapy is an option. And there are certain biomarkers that we use to make sure that immunotherapy is the best way to go.”

Socinski says most doctors think of the disease as treatable, but not curable, but the drug could change that. The American Cancer Society estimates that only aboutten percent of people with the late stage of the disease survive for more than 5 years after their diagnosis.

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Danielle Prieur is WMFE's education reporter.