EGFR inhibitor could provide major advance in lung cancer

Small molecule treatment TAGRISSO^® (osimertinib) demonstrated a “statistically significant and highly clinically meaningful improvement” in progression-free survival (PFS) for Stage III lung cancer patients, AstraZeneca has confirmed. This was established from positive high-level results seen in the LAURA Phase III trial.

The data was based on observations from patients with unresectable, Stage III epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after chemoradiotherapy (CRT) compared to placebo after CRT.

While findings from the LAURA Phase III trial were “not mature” at the time of the analysis, overall survival (OS) data showed a favourable trend for TAGRISSO.

TAGRISSO is a third-generation, irreversible EGFR- tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with proven clinical activity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), AstraZeneca noted.

Significance of the results

“These results represent a major advance for patients with Stage III EGFR-mutated lung cancer who have a high propensity for early progression and spread to the brain, and where no targeted therapy is available. LAURA shows osimertinib can provide impactful clinical benefit and could become the first targeted treatment option for patients with Stage III disease,” explained Dr Suresh Ramalingam, Executive Director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, US, and principal investigator in the trial.

“These highly impactful results for the LAURA trial in this potentially curative early lung cancer setting further entrench TAGRISSO as the backbone therapy for EGFR-mutated lung cancer,” noted Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca.

Future developments for lung cancer treatment TAGRISSO

AstraZeneca stated that the data will be presented at a forthcoming medical meeting and distributed to regulators globally.

TAGRISSO as a combination treatment with chemotherapy was recently approved in the US, based on data from the FLAURA2 Phase III trial.

According to AstraZeneca, the small molecule treatment TAGRISSO is also being investigated in two Phase III trials. Results from a Phase III trial in the neoadjuvant setting are expected later in 2024. The other ADAURA2 Phase III trial is focusing on the early-stage adjuvant resectable setting.

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