Dr. Bordoni on the Utility of Adjuvant Osimertinib in ​EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer

Rodolfo Bordoni, MD, medical oncologist, director of research, Georgia Cancer Specialists, discusses the utility of ​adjuvant osimertinib (Tagrisso) in lung cancer.

Osimertinib has impacted the standard of care in the adjuvant setting following it’s FDA approval for use as adjuvant treatment for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R mutations. The approval was based on findings from the phase 3 ADAURA trial (NCT02511106), in which patients with stage IB to IIIA NSCLC had improved disease-free survival with adjuvant osimertinib vs placebo, Bordoni explains. 

It is important to consider how to improve quality of life for patients by understanding when to offer patients adjuvant therapy with chemotherapy or immunotherapy, Bordoni explains. By gaining more knowledge on patient tumors through ongoing studies, it will be possible to avoid causing unnecessary adverse effects in patients, Bordoni adds.

Historically, the benefit of adjuvant therapy has been approximately 10%; however, it is important to continue to identify which patients are best suited for adjuvant therapy to increase this rate, Bordoni concludes.