Dr. Piotrowska on the Utility of Mobocertinib in EGFR Exon 20–Mutant NSCLC

Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, discusses the utility of mobocertinib (formerly TAK-788) in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who harbor EGFR exon 20 insertions.

Mobocertinib is an oral TKI that has demonstrated significant efficacy among patients with NSCLC and EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, says Piotrowska. During the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2020 World Conference on Lung Cancer, findings from a phase 1/2 study of mobocertinib in this patient population were presented and revealed an objective response rate of 26% per an independent review committee and 35% per investigator assessment. The median progression-free survival was 7.3 months.

Although these results are encouraging, toxicity remains a concern with mobocertinib, as well as other emerging targeted therapies for this subset of patients, Piotrowska says. In the study, 90% of patients reported diarrhea and 45% reported rash as treatment-related adverse effects. Moreover, 21% of patients experienced grade 3 or higher diarrhea. As such, improvements in symptom management or development of novel therapies that are less toxic are needed, concludes Piotrowska.