New research has found a strong association between taking treatments in the morning and better survival for patients with an aggressive type of lung cancer.
The administration of immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy earlier in the day can substantially improve survival for patients with an aggressive form of lung cancer, according to a new study published Dec. 8 in the journal Cancer.
The findings reinforce growing evidence that the body’s biological clock plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of cancer treatments.
The study focused on the lung cancer small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), a fast-growing disease that accounts for about 15% of new lung cancer cases and is typically associated with a poor prognosis.
Researchers from the Affiliated Oncology Hospital of Xiangya College of Medicine, South Central University, China, analyzed data from almost 400 patients treated between 2019 and 2023. All patients received standard first-line immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy, with a median survival of around 14 months.
By calculating the average time of day patients received treatment during their first four cycles of therapy, researchers compared results between those treated at the beginning and end of the day. A clear pattern emerged: patients who generally received immunotherapy before 3pm lived significantly longer without their cancer progressing and had a better overall survival over a five-year period than those treated in the late afternoon.
Even after considering factors such as age and gender, the treatment schedule remained a strong independent predictor of survival. In some cases, patients treated earlier in the day lived almost twice as long as those treated later, says the .
The results are in line with laboratory research that suggests that cytotoxic T cells, which can directly destroy cancer cells, tend to migrate to tumors in the morning. Administering immunotherapy during this period may therefore increase its effectiveness.
However, the researchers caution that the study was retrospective and that the majority of participants were male, meaning that more research is needed. will be more clinical trials needed to confirm the ideal timing and determine whether the benefits apply equally to all patients.
