- Findings from a new trial show the drug Tagrisso demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival among lung cancer patients with early-stage epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- Physicians said these results are promising and can offer a new standard of care for people with lung cancer.
- Experts say the best treatment for lung cancer is immunotherapy, used alone or with traditional therapies. Early testing is also essential.
Approximately 2.2 million people are diagnosed with lung cancer globally and an estimated 25-30% of all patients with NSCLC (the most common type of lung cancer) are diagnosed early enough to have surgery.
As with any form of cancer, early detection is key.
The ADAURA phase III trial reported that AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso (osimertinib) had a significant improvement in overall survival among people with early-stage epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had received surgery for their cancer.
This drug’s safety and tolerability in the trial were consistent with prior studies.
Tagrisso is an EGFR inhibitor, which is used in lung cancer patients.
“EGFR inhibitors have been used in lung cancer patients for now over 25 years. They’re now used in patients who have specific mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor, and they cause these tumors to shrink and remain without growth for long periods of time. This drug is used in patients with advanced lung cancer, as their first-line therapy,”Dr. Roy Herbst, the deputy director and chief of medical oncology at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital who was involved in the study, told Medical News Today.
Tagrisso can be used early in people with lung cancer.
“This drug is used in patients with advanced lung cancer, as their first-line therapy,” said Herbst. “Now what we are showing in the ADAURA trials is that you can use it even earlier in patients with lung cancer that have…
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