Comparable Effects of Erlotinib and Gefitinib in NSCLC Patients Bearing an EGFR Mutation

A retrospective study, conducted in a Korean population, has shown that two targeted therapy drugs achieved similar outcomes among people with metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring an EGFR mutation. The drugs, erlotinib and gefitinib (both EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors) have previously been reported to offer benefit over standard chemotherapy as first-line treatment of EGFR-positive advanced NSCLC.

Erlotinib is used worldwide, and gefitinib is widely used in Asian countries and recently in Europe (only for patients with tumors harboring EGFR mutations) but not in the United States. Indirect comparisons of the two agents have resulted in inconsistency with regard to progression-free survival, and until now, the agents have not been compared head-to-head in patients with EGFR-positive NSCLC. The findings of the study are published in the April issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s journal, the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO).

Read the relevant press release here:

http://bit.ly/1iv4SpK

Source: IASLC website