Hidden factor at the time of cancer treatment may affect survival, researchers say

The time of day patients receive cancer treatments could have an impact on outcome, a new study suggests.

New research published in Cancer, the official journal of the American Cancer Society, found that patients who received standard immunochemotherapy for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) earlier in the day had “significantly greater benefits” compared to those who received the same treatment later in the afternoon.

In the study, researchers from the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya Medical School of Central South University (China) analyzed data from nearly 400 patients who were treated between May 2019 and October 2023.

FAST-GROWING CANCER COULD BE REDUCED WITH COMMON BLOOD PRESSURE DRUG, RESEARCH SHOWS

All patients had ES-SCLC and received first-line immunotherapy (atezolizumab or durvalumab) along with chemotherapy, according to a news release.

“Our study found that patients who received immunochemotherapy before 3:00 p.m. had substantially longer progression-free survival and overall survival,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Yongchang Zhang, a medical oncologist and chief director of Hunan Cancer Hospital in Changsha, China, told News Digital.

“After adjusting for multiple confounders, earlier administration was associated with a 52% lower risk of cancer progression and a 63% lower risk of death.”

“It was quite surprising that simply changing the infusion time could generate such substantial survival benefits for patients,” he added.

TWO POPULAR TYPES OF EXERCISE COULD REDUCE CANCER GROWTH, STUDY FINDS

The findings align with the idea of ​​chronotherapy, which suggests that the body’s natural daily rhythms affect the functioning of the immune system and the way medications act in the body.

This means that cancer treatments may be more effective at certain times of the day, probably because immune activity and drug processing change during the 24-hour cycle, the study suggests.

“This study should not prompt patients to delay treatment or panic about appointment times.”

Based on the findings, Zhang recommends scheduling immunotherapy infusions earlier in the day.

“Research on multiple cancer types has shown that patients who receive immunotherapy earlier in the day experience longer survival,” he noted. “Our findings in non-small cell lung cancer, supported by both multicenter retrospective studies and prospective clinical trials, confirm this pattern.”

NEW CANCER THERAPY HUNTS AND DESTROYS DEADLY TUMORS IN BIG INNOVATIVE STUDY

Gilberto Lopes, MD, chief of medical oncology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, noted that previous similar studies in non-small cell lung cancer have shown better outcomes when immunotherapy is administered earlier in the day, reinforcing the idea that the immune system follows circadian rhythms that influence response to treatment.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

“In that sense, the results are biologically plausible and consistent with a growing body of evidence on cancers,” Lopes, who was not involved in the study, told News Digital. “What is surprising is that this signal now appears in small cell lung cancer, a disease whose outcomes have been notoriously difficult to improve.”

The study had some limitations, as detailed in the published study. Notably, the study was retrospective and observational, meaning it could not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between the timing of the treatments and the outcomes.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE News APP

With this type of study, Lopes said, “researchers start with an idea and go back and review patient records.” In this case, according to the oncologist, other factors may influence the result.

TRY OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

“For example, did patients who came in earlier in the day have better quality of life, functional status and socioeconomic status and is that what made the difference?” asked. “Or is there something else we don’t know? These results need to be confirmed prospectively to eliminate known and unknown sources of bias.”

Zhang also noted that this was a single-center study that included only Chinese patients. “For more definitive evidence, prospective clinical trials conducted in multiple countries and diverse populations are needed,” he told News Digital.

Looking ahead, researchers plan to conduct randomized trials to confirm these preliminary findings and identify optimal treatment windows based on each patient’s chronotypes (internal biological clocks).

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

“This study should not prompt patients to delay treatment or panic about appointment times,” Lopes cautioned. “But it raises an important, low-cost question for oncology systems: If scheduling flexibility exists, should earlier infusion times be preferred?”

“The next step is prospective testing, but until then, this research invites us to rethink something that medicine often ignores: timing.”