The NT Council recommends Imfinzi (durvalumab) as …

NT Council (New Therapies Council) It is recommended to the county council to introduce Imfinzi (durvalumab) as a treatment option for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The decision means that the NT Council sees some value in the treatment option, but allows county councils and the regions themselves to decide to what extent it should be introduced as a treatment option.

The whole decision can be read right here

The NT Council is mandated by the County Council to make recommendations on the use of certain new drugs. The goal of the NT Council's recommendations is that care be cost-effective and equitable across the country.

Durvalumab has recently been approved by the European Commission for the treatment of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer, which can not be operated on but has not spread into the body. The authorization, based on the PACIFIC study, concerns the treatment of subjects whose tumors express the PD-L1 biomarker and for whom the current standard treatment has already been administered, namely platinum-based chemoradiotherapy, where radiotherapy is associated with cytostatics.

Durvalumab, a delayed-onset inhibitor, has been established for many years for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The PACIFIC study has shifted the positions of this treatment to also serve as adjunctive therapy to culturally targeted combination therapy with cytostatics and radiotherapy. The effect of this finishing treatment is good and represents a new standard of care for this group of patients, said Anders Vikström, Chief Medical Officer at the Pulmonary Medicine Clinic at Linköping University Hospital.

In 2016, less than 3,900 Swedes were diagnosed with lung cancer, according to the composition Cancer in figures 2018[1]which is done in collaboration between the National Board of Health and the Cancer Fund. This figure includes several types of lung cancer, but non-small cell lung cancer accounts for about 85% of all lung cancers. Lung cancer is the sixth most common form of cancer in Sweden, but the most common cause of cancer death. When the disease is detected, it is often already advanced locally. The five-year relative survival has improved in Sweden in recent years, but it remains only 17% for men and 24% for women.[2].

About durvalumab

Durvalumab is a monoclonal antibody against PD-L1 protein. This protein can be expressed on certain tumor cells in non-small cell lung cancer. Durvalumab works by interacting with PD-L1, blocking interactions with receptors on activated T cells of the immune system, called PD-1, as well as CD80 protein. Thus, the defense of tumor cells against the immune system is degraded and the immune system can attack the tumor cells.

Durvalumab is approved for the treatment of stage III inoperable small cell lung cancer in Brazil, India, Japan, Canada, Switzerland and the United States, as well as in the EU.

About Stage III Inoperable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Cancer is usually divided into four stages, the most advanced stages representing a more advanced disease. Stage III non-small cell lung cancer is generally divided into three subgroups (III A, III B and III C) depending on the duration of local spread and the appearance of surgical options. In stage IV disease, distant metastases occur in other organs such as the liver or brain. Stage III non-small cell lung cancer is treated to cure the disease, but stage four is palliative. About a third of patients with non-small cell lung cancer have stage III disease at the time of diagnosis and a majority of them can not be operated on.