Nature retracts provocative PD-1 study that tied lung cancer survival to treatment timing

Live updates

1. 11d ago

   Nature Medicine Retracts Lung Cancer Immunotherapy Timing Study

   Nature Medicine retracted the Phase III LungTIME-C01 trial on June 24. The study previously claimed that administering anti-PD-1 agents before 3:00 PM improved survival for non-small cell lung cancer patients. Editors cited a loss of confidence in the integrity of the results.

   What's confirmed:

   • Nature Medicine retracted the LungTIME-C01 Phase III trial on June 24.
   • The study involved 210 patients with treatment naive stage IIIC-IV non-small cell lung cancer.
   • The trial tested whether administering anti-PD-1 agents before or after 15:00 h affected outcomes.
   • The retracted results claimed a median progression-free survival of 11.3 months for the early group versus 5.7 months for the late group.
   • The retracted results claimed a median overall survival of 28.0 months for the early group versus 16.8 months for the late group.
   • Retraction was prompted by concerns regarding data patterns, trial reporting, and protocol changes.
   • Editors stated they no longer have confidence in the integrity of the results.

   Still unconfirmed:

   • The retraction could provide political leverage to China hawks.
   • Eric Topol previously described the study as probably the best proof of the importance of timing of therapy seen in medicine to date.
   • Brad Loncar joked that the Patriots offense was like immunotherapy administered after 3:00 PM.
   confidence 100%