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ZURICH, March 20 (Reuters) - Roche's immunotherapyTecentriq plus chemotherapy cut the risk of disease worsening ordeath in advanced squamous lung cancer, but it did not yet showan overall survival benefit in this tough-to-treat disease, theSwiss drugmaker said Tuesday.

A late-stage study, called IMpower131, demonstrated thatTecentriq combined with carboplatin and Abraxane boostedprogression-free survival (PFS), compared with chemotherapyalone, in patients getting initial treatment.

So far, however, the cocktail did not boost overall survival(OS), the length of time patients diagnosed with a diseaseremain alive, compared to chemotherapy. That is considered thegold standard when assessing a drug's effectiveness.

The trial will continue as planned, Roche said, adding it islooking forward to more-mature data in hopes its immunotherapycombination eventually demonstrates it keeps people alive longerthan standard regimens.

IMpower131 is among eight Roche trials of Tecentriq, eitheralone or combined with other drugs, against lung cancer that theBasel-based company is counting on to help its immunotherapygain ground against more-established rival drugs from Merckand Bristol-Myers Squibb.

"There have been limited new treatment options over the lastfew decades," said Sandra Horning, Roche's chief medicalofficer. "We will share the IMpower131 results with globalhealth authorities and we look forward to seeing more matureoverall survival data."

The IMpower131 study compares two different Tecentriqcombinations -- one with Abraxane and one with another form ofchemotherapy called paclitaxel -- against chemotherapy.

The combination with Abraxane must demonstrate an overallsurvival benefit before Roche can begin comparing theTecentriq-paclitaxel combination with chemotherapy, according tothe way the trial is designed.(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)