A lab at Kyoto University Hospital in Japan. Photo: Jiji Press
Very few patients developed serious side effects, the hospital in Kyoto, a city in western Japan, said, underlining the safety of such treatment.
"The combined treatment has proved to be effective and helpful in increasing the survival rate," Manabu Muto, professor at the hospital, said.
"We hope to find treatment that best suits patients."
The clinical trial covered 41 patients at five hospitals, including Kyoto University Hospital, who were administered the immunotherapy drug nivolumab in addition to receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Of them, 30 people were in a state of complete response, in which all signs of cancer disappear in imaging tests.
Three patients died within a year of starting the combined treatment method, two of whom developed serious pneumonitis, which was among possible side effects.
A study that used patients' cancer cells to look into the gene expression of 51 immune gene types found that some cases could be categorized as "immune high active," Kyoto University Hospital said.
The combined treatment may be more effective for people in this group, the hospital said.
