New Research in Treatment for EGFR-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- New study results show benefits of targeted drug in early lung cancer.
- Tagrisso cut recurrence by 80 percent.
- Tagrisso cut brain metastases by 82 percent.
There is positive news for some people diagnosed with lung cancer. The targeted lung cancer drug osimertinib (Tagrisso) slashed relapse rates by 80 percent in people with EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Those were the results of a recent clinical trial, which were announced Saturday at the European Society for Medical Oncology annual meeting.
Dr. Geoffrey Oxnard explains the importance of genetics in lung cancer.
About three in ten cases of non-small cell lung cancer are operable. That means surgeons can completely remove the cancerous tissue from the lungs. But about half the people who have curative surgery will have a recurrence, often somewhere else in the body, such as the brain, within a few years. Chemotherapy after surgery helps prevent some recurrences and deaths, but not most. Tagrisso, on the other hand, may cut the risk of recurrence by more than 80 percent in EGFR-positive non-small lung cancer.
Related: New Targeted Lung Cancer Drug, Retevmo, So Effective It Gave Musician His Life Back
“These results will change the way we practice,” Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, who is Chief of Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet. “Once the drug is approved for this use, it will be critical to test for this mutation after surgery to use this agent in our patients.”
Study Results Bring New Hope
For three years, clinical trial researchers followed 682 people with EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer that was removed by surgery. During that time, half took Tagrisso every day. The others took a placebo (or sugar pill). Two years later, 90 percent of the people in the Tagrisso group with stages II to IIIA disease were alive and cancer-free. The same was true for 44 percent of those in the placebo group. Across all disease stages, 89 percent were alive and cancer-free in the medication group; 52 percent in the placebo group. Tagrisso drastically cut recurrence and brain metastases.
Dr. Leena Gandhi talks clinical trials and late-stage lung cancer.
“The data show an 80 percent decrease in recurrence rate with an 82 percent decrease in brain metastases,” Herbst says.
Tagrisso Targets the Tumor’s Growth Mechanism
Cancer tumors aren’t all alike. Different tumors can have different genetic mutations that help them grow and spread. Targeted therapy shuts down the specific gene mutation that helps that particular cancer thrive. Doctors run genetic tests, also known as comprehensive biomarker testing, on tumor cells to see if there are any genetic mutations that available drugs can target. Tagrisso blocks a mutation called EGFR, which is present in about 15 percent of lung cancers.
Related: Comprehensive Biomarker Testing for Lung Cancer: Who Needs It? What’s It For?
This drug is already FDA-approved for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that has the EGFR mutation. But, the findings of this study could make it available to people long before their cancer becomes metastatic.
“I believe this sets a new paradigm,” Herbst says, “bringing EGFR -targeted therapy to the earliest stages of lung cancer treatment.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
New Research in Treatment for EGFR-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- New study results show benefits of targeted drug in early lung cancer.
- Tagrisso cut recurrence by 80 percent.
- Tagrisso cut brain metastases by 82 percent.
There is positive news for some people diagnosed with lung cancer. The targeted lung cancer drug osimertinib (Tagrisso) slashed relapse rates by 80 percent in people with
EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Those were the results of a recent clinical trial, which were announced Saturday at the European Society for Medical Oncology annual meeting.
Dr. Geoffrey Oxnard explains the importance of genetics in lung cancer.
Read More About three in ten cases of non-small cell lung cancer are operable. That means surgeons can completely remove the cancerous tissue from the lungs. But about half the people who have curative surgery will have a recurrence, often somewhere else in the body, such as the brain, within a few years. Chemotherapy after surgery helps prevent some recurrences and deaths, but not most. Tagrisso, on the other hand, may cut the risk of recurrence by more than 80 percent in EGFR-positive non-small lung cancer.
Related: New Targeted Lung Cancer Drug, Retevmo, So Effective It Gave Musician His Life Back
“These results will change the way we practice,” Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, who is Chief of Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet. “Once the drug is approved for this use, it will be critical to test for this mutation after surgery to use this agent in our patients.”
Study Results Bring New Hope
For three years, clinical trial researchers followed 682 people with EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer that was removed by surgery. During that time, half took Tagrisso every day. The others took a placebo (or sugar pill). Two years later, 90 percent of the people in the Tagrisso group with stages II to IIIA disease were alive and cancer-free. The same was true for 44 percent of those in the placebo group. Across all disease stages, 89 percent were alive and cancer-free in the medication group; 52 percent in the placebo group. Tagrisso drastically cut recurrence and brain metastases.
Dr. Leena Gandhi talks clinical trials and late-stage lung cancer.
“The data show an 80 percent decrease in recurrence rate with an 82 percent decrease in brain metastases,” Herbst says.
Tagrisso Targets the Tumor’s Growth Mechanism
Cancer tumors aren’t all alike. Different tumors can have different genetic mutations that help them grow and spread. Targeted therapy shuts down the specific gene mutation that helps that particular cancer thrive. Doctors run genetic tests, also known as comprehensive biomarker testing, on tumor cells to see if there are any genetic mutations that available drugs can target. Tagrisso blocks a mutation called EGFR, which is present in about 15 percent of lung cancers.
Related: Comprehensive Biomarker Testing for Lung Cancer: Who Needs It? What’s It For?
This drug is already FDA-approved for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that has the EGFR mutation. But, the findings of this study could make it available to people long before their cancer becomes metastatic.
“I believe this sets a new paradigm,” Herbst says, “bringing EGFR -targeted therapy to the earliest stages of lung cancer treatment.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
