Tecentriq approved for small cell lung cancer

(HealthDay)—Tecentriq (atezolizumab) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).

The drug has been approved as a first-line treatment for the disease, to be used in combination with the chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and etoposide.

Tecentriq was evaluated in a clinical study involving 403 adults who had received no prior chemotherapy, the FDA said in a news release.

Average survival for those who took the Tecentriq combination was 12.3 months, compared to 10.3 months among those who took the chemotherapy drugs and a placebo.

The most common side effects among the Tecentriq group were fatigue, nausea, temporary baldness, constipation and loss of appetite.

The newly approved drug is produced by Genentech, based in South San Francisco.