Lung Cancer Immunotherapy: Morning Treatments Linked to Improved Patient Outcomes
Researchers conducted an experiment involving lung cancer patients on immunotherapy treatments. The study investigated whether the time of day treatments were administered influenced patient outcomes, revealing significant differences.
Patients with the same type of lung cancer received immune-system-boosting medications. Half the group received their medications before 3 p.m., while the other half received them later in the day. The study, led by researchers in China and published in Nature Medicine, enrolled 210 patients diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancers. Patients were randomly assigned to either the early or late treatment group.
Key Findings
Patients who received their initial treatments in the morning demonstrated improved outcomes:
- They had, on average, approximately five more months before their cancers grew and spread (progression-free survival).
- They lived almost a year longer than those treated later in the day.
- They had higher survival rates at the conclusion of the more than two-year study.
- About 45% of the 105 patients in the early treatment group were alive at the study's end, compared to approximately 15% of the 105 patients in the later treatment group.
- Blood tests indicated that patients treated earlier in the day had more cancer cell-killing immune cells.
Patients who received their initial treatments in the morning demonstrated improved outcomes.
Circadian Rhythm and Immune System
Research has explored the body’s circadian rhythm, which regulates various biological functions, including hormone release, hunger, tiredness, body temperature, blood sugar, and blood pressure. Scientists studying these body clocks have observed that the immune system appears to be sensitive to timing.
Mounting evidence suggests that timing may influence vaccine effectiveness and the likelihood of adverse events after certain surgeries, such as heart valve replacement, which one study found to be less risky when performed in the afternoon.
Expert Reactions and Future Research
While many experts acknowledge the compelling nature of the findings, they approach them with caution. Dr. Zach Buchwald, an oncologist at Emory University, described the results as