Scientists have found that amrubicin has more of an effect on lung cancer patients as a second-line therapy than topotecan.
Research published by the Asklepios Hospital Munich-Gauting, Germany, found that it had a significantly improved response rate and provided longer progression-free survival.
"Amrubicin showed significant improvements in tumour shrinkage, symptom control and progression-free survival over topotecan without improving overall survival, the primary endpoint of the trial," commented principal investigator Joachim von Pawel from the hospital.
He added that patients with the most difficult-to-treat small cell lung cancer will find that amrubicin gives a better improvement in overall survival compared to topotecan.
According to the study, 637 patients were given either amrubicin or topotecan, with patients on the first drug reporting better symptom control and quality of life.
They also experienced fewer adverse events, including anaemia and neutopenia.
The information was published at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, with the next conference taking place in Sydney in 2013.
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