Excluding patients with a prior cancer diagnosis from lung cancer clinical trials may not be justified, researcher say. 

For patients with advanced lung cancer, previous cancer did not adversely affect survival, regardless of the type, stage, or timing of the prior cancer, the researchers led by Dr David Gerber from the UT Southwestern Medical Centre reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

In fact patients with a prior history of cancer had better survival rates, which the researchers suggested was due to earlier diagnosis of the stage IV lung cancer.

Modifying the policy for  trial inclusion could lead to faster accrual of patients, higher trial completion rates, and more generalizable trial results that can help a greater number of patients, ultimately leading to better treatments, the researchers said.