Dr. Ramalingam on FLAURA Trial Results in EGFR-Mutant NSCLC

Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, FASCO, deputy director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, discusses updated data from the FLAURA trial in EGFR-mutant non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Updated data of the FLAURA study presented at the 2019 ESMO Congress showed that the median overall survival of patients treated with osimertinib (Tagrisso) was superior at 38.6 months versus 31.8 months in the control arm. Additionally, the safety profile was shown to be tolerable despite a longer duration of exposure compared with first- or second-generation TKIs.

In a crossover report, 70% of patients received a subsequent therapy. In the control group, which comprised erlotinib (Tarceva) or gefitinib (Iressa) in the first-line setting, and received second-line therapy, 47% of patients received osimertinib, which aligned with what is seen with T790M, which is approximately 50% in the aquired resistance setting for erlotinib or gefitinib. Despite the crossover being offered in the second-line setting in a higher number of patients, osimertinib improved OS. Ramalingam believes these results negate arguments for regarding sequencing osimertinib in second-line or beyond. The results of the FLAURA study shows osimertinib has emerged as the preferred frontline TKI for EGFR-mutant NSCLC, concludes Ramalingam.

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