The researchers note that fewer than half of the patients with completely resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are cured, and since the introduction of adjuvant chemotherapy in 2004, no substantial progress has been made in adjuvant treatment, hence interest in this cancer vaccine comprising recombinant MAGE-A3 protein given with a proprietary immuno stimulant AS15.
According to a commentary, neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy that results in a small but significant survival benefit compared with surgery alone remains the sole active complementary treatment to surgery. It adds that even if the survival benefit obtained with adjuvant chemotherapy is the same as with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, more patients are able to benefit from induction chemotherapy than adjuvant. Furthermore, because survival of patients surgically treated for lung cancer remains unsatisfactory, finding biomarkers that help to establish the best complementary treatment is crucial.