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News
A phase 3 trial just handed relapsed small-cell lung cancer patients a major new option. The TAISHAN-302 study found that tambotatug pelitecan (tam-peli) nearly doubled overall survival compared to the long-standing standard, topotecan (13.3 vs. 9.4 months), while also cutting the risk of death by 54%. Researchers say it could become the new standard of care for second-line SCLC treatment.
A new contender for second-line small-cell lung cancer treatment
For years, topotecan has been the go-to second-line treatment for relapsed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) — but its survival benefit has always been modest. Now, a phase 3 trial is making a strong case for a new standard. The TAISHAN-302 study evaluated tambotatug pelitecan (tam-peli), a B7-H3–targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), against topotecan in 451 adults with relapsed SCLC after first-line therapy. Results were presented at the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tam-peli delivered striking improvements across every key efficacy measure — overall survival, progression-free survival, and response rate — and did so consistently across all patient subgroups, regardless of metastasis status or chemotherapy-free interval.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: Relapsed SCLC is notoriously difficult to treat, with few effective options after first-line immunotherapy and platinum-based chemotherapy. Tam-peli's dramatic efficacy gains — paired with a more favorable safety profile than topotecan — position it as a potential game-changer for a patient population with historically poor outcomes.
