Key Takeaways<\/p>\n
Cancer immunotherapies might work better if given earlier in the day<\/p>\n
Lung cancer patients had better survival if they got IV treatments before 3 p.m.<\/p>\n
They also had longer remission<\/p>\n
TUESDAY, Dec. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Cancer survival might depend on what time of day you get your treatment, a new study says.<\/p>\n
Lung cancer<\/a> patients who received IV immunotherapy doses earlier in the day tended to live longer, according to results published online Dec. 8 in the journal Cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Getting immunotherapy drugs before 3 p.m. was associated with a 52% lower risk of cancer progression and a 63% lower risk of death, the study found.<\/p>\n This could be an inexpensive way to extend survival for cancer patients, said senior researcher Dr. Yongchang Zhang<\/a>, an associate professor at the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine at Central South University in China.<\/p>\n \u201cAdjusting infusion timing is a straightforward and easily implementable intervention that can be adopted across diverse health care settings without additional cost,\u201d Zhang said in a news release.<\/p>\n For the new study, researchers tracked nearly 400 people with advanced small cell lung cancer who\u2019d been prescribed the immunotherapy drugs atezolizumab<\/a> or durvalumab<\/a> alongside standard chemotherapy. The patients were treated between May 2019 and October 2023.<\/p>\n Both immunotherapy drugs work by blocking cancer cells\u2019 ability to evade detection by the immune system, according to Drugs.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Results showed that people who got these IV meds before 3 p.m. experienced significantly longer remission before their cancer again began to spread. They also had significantly better survival.<\/p>\n \u201cThis study has immediate clinical applicability and the potential to transform current treatment protocols for small cell lung cancer,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n The effect is likely due to people\u2019s circadian rhythms \u2014 the internal clock that affects different body processes, including immune reactions, researchers said.<\/p>\n However, more research is needed to understand the effect of circadian rhythms on cancer therapies and how to best leverage a person\u2019s internal clock to maximize treatment benefits, researchers said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese findings suggest a critical interplay between biological rhythms and tumor immunotherapy, offering novel opportunities for optimizing treatment strategies,\u201d researchers concluded.<\/p>\n More information<\/p>\n