For Immediate Release
June 27, 2005

BREAKING NEWS/LOCAL ANGLE

WHAT A clinical trial conducted by leading cancer organizations in North America found that the survival rate for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer improved significantly when the chemotherapy regimen of vinorelbine plus cisplatin was administered following surgery. Todd Demmy, MD, RPCI, was part of the research team.

WHO   Todd Demmy, MD,    Chair, Thoracic Surgery,    Roswell Park Cancer Institute 

WHEN Monday, June 27

WHERE Roswell Park Cancer Institute,  Elm & Carlton streets,  Buffalo

BACKGROUND Results of the prospective, randomized trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded this regimen, which can be administered safely in an outpatient setting, should become the standard of care for appropriate lung cancer patients.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in North America. For early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer, surgery is the treatment of choice, but five-year survival rates have remained stubbornly in the 30 to 60 percent range. “The goal has been to discover an effective systemic adjuvant therapy for these patients,” noted Dr. Demmy. “It appears that we have.”

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