It matters what time of day you get cancer treatment, study suggests

Stock photo of a middle aged white male sitting in a chair in a medical facility. He is facing the camera but looking into the distance to the right. His right arm is hooked up to an IV. .

A new study suggests that giving immunochemotherapy earlier in the day helps patients with an advanced type of lung cancer live longer.

Previous studies suggested that the body's internal clock, the circadian rhythm, can influence how well immune checkpoint inhibitors work. These drugs help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells by blocking tumors' ability to shut those immune responses down.