Summary
Study indicates advanced lung cancer patients may stop immunotherapy after 2 years without impacting survival, requiring further research for confirmation.
A study looked at people with advanced lung cancer who were being treated with immunotherapy drugs. Immunotherapy helps a person’s immune system fight cancer. The study wanted to see if stopping immunotherapy after 2 years changed a person’s risk of dying from lung cancer.
Over 700 patients were part of the study. Some stopped immunotherapy after getting it for 2 years. Others kept getting immunotherapy after 2 years. The researchers checked to see how long people lived whether they kept getting treatment or stopped after 2 years. The study found that people who stopped immunotherapy after 2 years lived about just as long as those who continued getting immunotherapy.
This suggests that for some advanced lung cancer patients, it may be okay to stop immunotherapy after getting it for 2 years instead of staying on the drugs long-term. More studies are still needed to know if this applies to all lung cancer patients on immunotherapy.
