The NEJM’s latest issue covers a mucus-thinning drug trial in respiratory failure, an antibiotic study in wheezing toddlers, and a targeted cancer drug for a specific lung cancer mutation.
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) posted details of its 20/27 August 2026 issue on social media, highlighting three new clinical trials across respiratory care and oncology (cancer medicine). The studies cover treatments ranging from a drug used to thin mucus in seriously ill patients to a cancer therapy targeting a particular genetic fault in lung tumours.
The first trial, known as the MARCH trial, examined carbocisteine — a medicine that loosens and thins mucus in the airways — compared with saline (salt water) in patients experiencing respiratory failure, where the lungs cannot supply enough oxygen to the body. The second, the PECARN AZ-SWED trial, looked at azithromycin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic, given to pre-school-aged children who present with wheezing episodes.
The third study focused on sunvozertinib, a drug being tested in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who carry a specific genetic change called an EGFR exon 20 insertion. This mutation affects a protein that tells cancer cells to grow, and it is associated with a form of lung cancer that has historically been harder to treat with standard targeted therapies.
All three studies appear in the same double issue of the journal. The NEJM has not yet released full public findings in the tweet itself — readers seeking the complete trial results would need to access the journal directly.
These trials do not yet represent changes to NHS treatment guidelines. Anyone with concerns about breathing problems, wheezing in young children, or a lung cancer diagnosis should speak to their GP or call NHS 111 for guidance.
Source: @NEJM