By Jenny Housh HERWriter October 3, 2013 - 8:54am

A small trial of Merck & Co Inc's experimental immunotherapy cancer drug, MK-3475 reported that a significant percentage of lung cancer patients responded to the treatment, which was reported by Reuters and released on Yahoo! earlier this week.

Early data from the trial showed that almost a quarter of lung cancer patients responded to the treatment and will be presented later this month at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Sydney, Australia.

This antibody drug, lambrolizumab, is part of a new class of compounds that is designed to block activity of a receptor on immune cells. The drug's designed purpose is to use the body's immune system to attack cancer cells.

Out of 38 patients whose cancer had halted response to earlier rounds of treatment, 24 percent had an immune-system response to the drug. 21 percent of patients experienced tumor shrinkage during the trial.

Yahoo! reported the most common side effects of the drug were fatigue, rash, itching and diarrhea.

To read the article from Yahoo! in its entirety, follow the link below:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/merck-drug-triggers-response-24-212941099.html