Dr. Augusto Villegas Publishes New Clinical Research
- October 24, 2017
- News
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Durvalumab After Chemoradiotherapy Offers Increased Progression-Free Survival (PFS)
Fleming Island, FL – October 17, 2017…… Dr. Augusto Villegas, who practices at the Florida Cancer Specialists (FCS) location in Fleming Island, was second author of an important new study demonstrating the effectiveness of durvalumab after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT) in extending progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Published in the September 8, 2017 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the randomized, double-blind, international study showed a PFS benefit with durvalumab was observed across all pre-specified groups, as compared to placebo.
Results from the study showed “the median progression-free survival from randomization was 16.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.0 to 18.1) with durvalumab versus 5.6 months (95% CI, 4.6 to 7.8) with placebo.” The report in the NEJM concludes, “These positive findings in an unselected patient population… suggest that durvalumab may be an effective adjuvant therapy in patients with stage III disease after standard treatment. Uncertainty about the potential mechanisms driving the interaction between immunotherapy and chemoradiotherapy warrants further investigation.”
A type of immunotherapy, durvalumab is a PD-L1 inhibitor that helps boost the immune response against cancer cells. On July 31, 2017, based on the results from the clinical trial, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted breakthrough therapy designation to durvalumab for patients with locally advanced, unresectable NSCLC who do not relapse after platinum-based chemoradiotherapy. The drug is also being studied for use against other forms of cancer.
In addition to publication in the NEJM, Dr. Villegas’ study was presented at the 2017 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference, held in Madrid, Spain in September, and at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held in June in Chicago, IL.
Dr. Augusto Villegas and his partners, Dr. Jeffrey Bubis and Dr. Elizabeth Kent, joined FCS in June/July 2017 and practice at the Fleming Island location, a suburb of Jacksonville, FL.
To read the full article: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1709937?query=featured_home
Sources: New England Journal of Medicine, September 8, 2017; American Cancer Society (Cancer.org)
