AstraZeneca's targeted therapy drug Tagrisso significantly extends survival for patients with earlier-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have the EGFR mutation, according to research released in advance of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Virtual Scientific Program.
The study, which is based on data from the phase 3 ADAURA trial, showed that giving Tagrisso to relatively early stage patients with lung cancer whose tumors were positive for the epidermal growth factor receptive–positive (EGFR) mutation dramatically increased disease-free survival (DFS) time compared with patients who did not receive the drug. At two years, 89% of all patients in the trial treated with Tagrisso remained alive and disease free versus 53% on placebo. Consistent DFS results were seen across all subgroups, including patients treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy and those who received surgery only.
The randomized controlled trial was unblinded close to two years early after an independent monitoring committee recognized the unique survival advantage in patients receiving Tagrisso.
The results are practice-changing, establishing the tyrosine kinase inhibitor as front-line treatment for patients with localized NSCLC and the EGFR mutation
The study results could widen the patient group of AstraZeneca's biggest product by close to 60,000 patients. Tagrisso 40mg and 80mg once-daily oral tablets have received approval in the US, Japan, China, the EU and many countries around the world for 1st-line EGFRm advanced NSCLC.
Read the press release
