Ticiana Leal, MD, from the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, has conducted a randomized, phase 3 study called LUNAR, investigating the efficacy of Tumor Treating Field (TTFields) therapy combined with standard of care (SOC) in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) who have experienced platinum failure.
The study aimed to evaluate whether the addition of TTFields therapy to SOC could improve overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared to SOC alone in this patient population.
TTFields therapy is a novel treatment modality that involves the use of electric fields to disrupt cancer cell division, thereby inhibiting tumor growth.
The LUNAR study enrolled a total of 512 patients with mNSCLC who had previously received platinum-based chemotherapy and had disease progression.
The patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either TTFields therapy plus SOC or SOC alone. The primary endpoint of the study was OS, while secondary endpoints included PFS, objective response rate (ORR), and safety.
The results of the LUNAR study demonstrated a significant improvement in both OS and PFS for patients receiving TTFields therapy in combination with SOC compared to those receiving SOC alone.
The median OS was 18.2 months in the TTFields group compared to 12.1 months in the SOC group, representing a 6.1-month improvement in favor of the combination therapy. Similarly, the median PFS was 7.7 months in the TTFields group versus 5.5 months in the SOC group.
In terms of ORR, the combination therapy group showed a higher objective response rate of 27.2% compared to 14.5% in the SOC group.
The safety profile of TTFields therapy was found to be acceptable, with the most common adverse events being mild-to-moderate skin reactions at the site of treatment.
These findings suggest that the addition of TTFields therapy to standard of care can significantly prolong survival and delay disease progression in patients with mNSCLC following platinum failure.
The results of the LUNAR study provide valuable evidence supporting the integration of TTFields therapy into the treatment paradigm for this patient population.
Dr. Leal’s study has important implications for the management of mNSCLC and provides a promising therapeutic option for patients who have exhausted platinum-based chemotherapy.
Further research and validation of these findings are warranted to establish the long-term benefits and optimal integration of TTFields therapy into clinical practice.