Tagrisso Therapy Elicits Wave of New Therapeutic Approaches in NSCLC

The phase 3 LAURA trial showed that treatment with Tagrisso (osimertinib) continued to have an encouraging overall survival trend in patients with unresectable, stage 3 EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following chemoradiotherapy, according to a news release which detailed the findings.

The median overall survival reached 58.8 months for those treated with Tagrisso versus 54.1 months with placebo. These results, when coupled with previously reported statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in progression-free survival with Tagrisso, reinforce the agent's role as a standard treatment in this setting, according to Dr. Suresh Ramalingam.

To further shine light on the topic, Ramalingam sat down for an interview with CURE. In the interview, he discussed how the LAURA findings support the role of Tagrisso as a backbone therapy across multiple settings in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, particularly in earlier-stage, unresectable disease.

He also highlighted some consideration that oncologists should keep in mind regarding risk management and patient selection based on findings from the LAURA trial

Ramalingam is a medical oncologist and executive director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, as well as associate vice president for cancer of Woodruff Health Sciences Center. He also holds the Roberto C. Goizueta Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research.

Transcript:

In metastatic NSCLC, or stage 4 NSCLC, Tagrisso is now the preferred first-line therapy. Some newer studies show that combining Tagrisso with chemotherapy can improve outcomes. There is also another regimen that includes Lazcluze (lazertinib), an Tagrisso-like drug, with another drug called Rybrevant (amivantamab-vmjw), which has shown improved survival.

While there are some options available, they all rely on the fact that a third-generation drug like Tagrisso is the mainstay of treatment.

Now, about three or four years ago, we learned that Tagrisso also improves survival for patients with early-stage lung cancer who undergo surgical resection. So, it is now the standard of care in what we call the adjuvant therapy setting. The only group where we weren't clear was those patients who did not have stage four disease and did not have surgically operable disease — the unresectable patient population. That is exactly the group the LAURA study evaluated.

So, Tagrisso is now basically applicable for practically every stage of non-small cell lung cancer, perhaps with the exception of stage 1A, where it is still being studied. And you are correct in your reference that this is now the mainstay of treatment for EGFR-mutated patients with lung cancer in the United States.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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