ELCC 2017: Osimertinib and Symptom Control in Advanced Lung Cancer
Posted: Friday, May 19, 2017
Compared with chemotherapy, osimertinib significantly improved cancer-related symptoms and quality of life in patients with advanced lung cancer, based on the findings of an analysis of patient-reported outcomes from the AURA3 phase III clinical trial. These results were presented by Chee Lee, MD, of St. George Hospital Cancer Care Centre in New South Wales, Australia, and colleagues at the recent European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC; Abstract 85O).
“Osimertinib not only increases progression-free survival, but it is well tolerated, which makes a big difference for our patients,” shared Dr. Lee.
In the AURA3 trial, 419 patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease had progressed after first-line EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy were randomized to receive osimertinib or chemotherapy. Patients treated with osimertinib in the AURA3 study had a 5.7-month improvement in median progression-free survival, but the patient-reported outcomes evaluated in Dr. Lee’s analysis revealed even further benefit with the drug. Osimertinib significantly reduced appetite loss, fatigue, breathlessness, and chest pain as well as improved global health status, physical functioning, role functioning, and social functioning scores.
