Lung cancer pill drastically cuts risk of death after surgery

A once-daily pill halved people's risk of dying from a common lung cancer when they took the drug after tumor-removal surgery, new trial data shows.

The study was the result of a 682-patient trial that included participants diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer , one of two main types of primary lung cancer. All patients also had a mutation in the epidermal growth factor receptor gene, which codes for a protein found on the surface of cells. EGFR mutations can boost cancer's ability to grow and spread, raising patients' risk of cancer recurrence post-treatment.

Approximately 80% to 85% of all lung cancers are NSCLC. Each year more than 127,000 Americans die from lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

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