Research into treatment for lung cancer

Researchers around the world are looking at making better and kinder treatments for lung cancer.

Go to Cancer Research UK’s clinical trials database if you are looking for a trial for lung cancer in the UK. You need to talk to your specialist if there are any trials that you think you might be able to take part in.

Click on the ‘recruiting’, ‘closed’ and ‘results’ tabs to make sure you see all the trials.

Some of the trials on this page might have now stopped recruiting people. It takes time before the results are available. This is because the trial team follow the patients for a period of time and collects and analyses the results. We have included this ongoing research to give examples of the type of research being carried out in lung cancer.

Treatments for lung cancer include:

• radiotherapy

• chemotherapy

• chemotherapy with radiotherapy (chemoradiotherapy)

• surgery

• targeted cancer drugs

• immunotherapy

Research and clinical trials

All cancer treatments must be fully researched before they can be used for everyone. This is so we can be sure that:

• they work

• they work better than the treatments already available

• they are safe

To make sure the research is accurate, each trial has certain entry conditions for who can take part. These are different for each trial.

Hospitals do not take part in every clinical trial. Some trials are only done in a small number of hospitals, or in one area of the country. You may need to travel quite far if you take part in these trials. 

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy can help to control and reduce the symptoms of lung cancer.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)

Researchers are looking at giving radiotherapy called with a targeted drug . The type of radiotherapy they use is stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). The type of targeted drug is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). This is as a treatment for advanced non small lung cancer. 

The researchers want to:

• find out if targeting the areas of cancer growth with SBRT helps TKIs work for longer

• find out more about quality of life after having SBRT and TKI

• learn more about the side effects of SBRT and TKI when used together

Different types of radiotherapy

Another study looks at giving different types of radiotherapy with chemotherapy and immunotherapy . These treatments are also called systemic anti cancer therapy (SACT). The researchers want to:

• find out how well SACT and radiotherapy work as a treatment

• learn more about the side effects

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the main treatment for small cell lung cancer and is also commonly used for non small cell lung cancer. Research continues into improving the timing and doses of drugs used. And researchers also hope to find new combinations of drugs that might give better results.

Datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd)

Researchers are comparing the combination of datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), durvalumab and carboplatin with the combination of pembrolizumab and chemotherapy. It is as a treatment for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

DatoDXd is a type of drug called an antibody drug conjugate. It has two parts, they are:

• datopotamab a monoclonal antibody drug
• deruxtecan a chemotherapy drug

Carboplatin is a chemotherapy drug. Durvalumab and pembrolizumab are immunotherapy drugs.

Researchers think the combination of Dato-DXd, durvalumab and carboplatin could be better than pembrolizumab and chemotherapy.

Tusamitamab ravtansine

In another study, researchers are comparing tusamitamab ravtansine to docetaxel. It is as a treatment for non small cell lung cancer. Tusamitamab ravtansine is an antibody drug conjugate. It is a combination of:

• a monoclonal antibody
• a chemotherapy drug called ravtansine or DM4

Researchers think that tusamitamab ravtansine might be as good as or better than docetaxel for non small lung cancer.

Lurbinectedin

A trial is also looking at adding lurbinectedin to atezolizumab to help treat small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Lurbinectedin is a newer chemotherapy. Atezolizumab is an immunotherapy drug. It is for people whose cancer has spread within the chest or to other parts of the body. This is called extensive disease.

Researchers think that adding lurbinectedin to maintenance atezolizumab could help to control the cancer for longer.

Chemotherapy stopping working

A common problem with many cancers is that chemotherapy works well at first but then stops working. In one study, researchers are interested in finding out why chemotherapy can stop working.

Chemoradiotherapy

Chemoradiotherapy means having chemotherapy and radiotherapy together. Doctors use chemoradiotherapy to treat non small cell lung cancer.

Researchers looked at whether adding atovaquone to chemoradiotherapy can help it work better. Atovaquone is a drug doctors use to treat certain infections.

The researchers wanted to find out:

• the best dose of atovaquone to give with chemoradiotherapy
• about the side effects of giving atovaquone with chemoradiotherapy

Surgery

Pain control

Researchers are looking into improving pain control in people having surgery. They are looking at people having thoracoscopic surgery for lung cancer. They are looking at whether giving a pain block before surgery, together with pain medication after surgery, will reduce:

• acute pain after the operation
• the number of strong painkillers needed
• chronic pain

They also want to know if it improves recovery from surgery.

Problems after surgery

After having surgery, you might have complications. This will affect how well you recover after surgery.

Simvastatin is a drug used to treat people with high blood fat (cholesterol) levels. Simvastatin can also reduce inflammation. Inflammation is your body's response to injury or illness.

Researchers think simvastatin could help reduce inflammation before and after surgery. And so prevent the complications of surgery.

Targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapy

Targeted cancer drugs change how cells work and help the body control the growth of cancer. Some targeted drugs seek out and destroy cancer cells. Other drugs help the immune system attack cancer.

There are different types of targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapies . For non small cell lung cancer, researchers are looking at:

• defactinib
• osimertinib
• durvalumab
• pembrolizumab
• oleclumab
• monalizumab
• domvanalimab

With radiotherapy

Researchers are also looking at using:

• targeted drugs with stereotactic body radiotherapy in people with metastatic lung cancer 
• targeted drugs with radiotherapy for people with localised lung cancer 
• immunotherapy with radiotherapy for people with early stage lung cancer

With chemoradiotherapy

Another study looks at different types of immunotherapy with chemoradiotherapy . It is for locally advanced lung cancer. Researchers are adding nivolumab to chemoradiotherapy and comparing it to chemoradiotherapy alone. They are also comparing 3 different immunotherapy treatments to have after these first treatments. These are:

• nivolumab plus ipilumumab
• nivolumab on its own
• durvalumab

Vaccines

Researchers are looking at 2 vaccines with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. It is for non small cell lung cancer that has spread from where it started. The vaccines work by helping the immune system to attack cancer cells.

Another trial is looking at a vaccine that helps the body to make immune cells. It helps the immune system recognise and attack lung cancer cells. The vaccine is for people with cancer that has grown into nearby tissue or that has spread elsewhere in the body (metastatic cancer).

Why are some lung cancers more difficult to treat (TRACERx)?

Cancer varies between different people. Even in an individual person, the cancer can change over time. In a large study, researchers will take samples of blood and cancer tissue at different times over a 5 year period. They will look at them in the laboratory to help them understand which changes affect how cancer grows.

The study aims to look at features of non small cell lung cancer, including factors related to genes inside the cell, as they change over time. The study team also hope to see why some lung cancers are difficult to treat.

How the immune system works in lung disease (TargetLung)

Researchers want to improve their knowledge of how the immune system works in lung diseases. In this study, they want to test samples from people with:

• different types of lung disease, including lung cancer
• a condition where the lungs have become less stretchy (lung fibrosis)

They will also look at samples from people who have healthy lungs.

Further treatment after initial treatment for advanced non small cell lung cancer (RAMON)

In this study, researchers are looking at treating cancer cells that might be left behind after initial treatment. Further treatment aims to remove these cells and or treat any symptoms the cancer may cause.