nintedanibNintedanib was recently approved in combination with docetaxel for the treatment of adults with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) of the glandular tissue who have already received chemotherapy, and researchers examined whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the proper comparator therapy. In its dossier, the drug manufacturer compares treatment consisting of nintedanib pus docetaxel with treatment comprising placebo plus docetaxel.

The Science Daily news report notes that as the treatment period in the nintedanib arm was longer than in the placebo arm, the observation periods for the study arms differed. As the analysis of the data indicates, the advantages or disadvantages of nintedanib in combination with docetaxel primarily depend on whether patients already had brain metastases at the start of the study or not.

Patients without brain metastases who were administered nintedanib in combination with docetaxel lived longer than study participants who were only treated with docetaxel, which indicates a minor added benefit. The results of the study also show that although diarrhea was more frequent in patients receiving nintedanib, the disadvantage does not challenge the survival advantage, as noted on the Science Daily news report.

Overall, according to the results of the study, there is an indication of a minor added benefit of nintedanib in combination with docetaxel in patients without brain metastases. In patients with brain metastases, however, the new drug has more disadvantages than chemotherapy with docetaxel alone, which hints at a lesser benefit of nintedanib with the extent “considerable,” according to Science Daily.

Source: Science Daily