Patients given the drug AS1404 as well as standard chemotherapy lived an average of 14 months compared with 8.8 months if given chemotherapy alone according to an article on BBC News. In preliminary trials, this experimental lung cancer drug has extended patients’ life expectancy by approximately 50%.

The new drug works by cutting off blood supply to tumours; it is able to distinguish between blood vessels feeding the tumour and those serving healthy organs. Dr Mark McKeage, who co-led the trial, said “It is great to see this large survival benefit with AS1404 in lung cancer patients”.

The charity Cancer Research UK has now stepped in to take the drug into early stage clinical trials.

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