FDA Approves Genentech’s Tecentriq in Combination with Chemotherapy for the Initial Treatment of People with Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

• Katrina Williams
• March 22, 2019
• Administrative, Clinical Practice Updates, Drugs, News

The FDA approved Tecentriq (atezolizumab), in combination with carboplatin and etoposide (chemotherapy), for the initial (first-line) treatment of adults with extensive-stage small lung cancer (ES-SCLC). It is the first new initial treatment option approved by the FDA for people with ES-SCLC in more than 20 years. The Genentech press release including Important Safety Information is linked here, and a statement issued by the FDA about the approval is linked here. 

This approval is important news for a number of reasons:

• Tecentriq in combination with chemotherapy is the first and only cancer immunotherapy approved for the initial treatment of ES-SCLC, a difficult-to-treat form of disease.
• The approval is based on results from the Phase III IMpower133 study, which showed that Tecentriq in combination with chemotherapy helped people live significantly longer compared to chemotherapy alone.
• SCLC accounts for approximately 13 percent of all lung cancers. The majority (approximately 70 percent) of people with the disease are diagnosed with ES-SCLC.

To learn more about our perspective on important topics in lung cancer and immunotherapy, visit the Genentech cancer immunotherapy and lung cancer topics pages.