LUX-Lung 7 Update: Trend for Overall Survival Benefit for Afatinib
Newest results from the LUX-Lung 7 reported at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress confirmed a significant advantage of afatinib vs gefitinib in terms of progression-free survival, time to treatment failure, and objective response rate and suggested a nonsignificant trend with afatinib for overall survival benefit. Commenting on the updated findings, Pasi A. Janne, MD, PhD, Director, Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Center/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Boston, noted that afatinib was associated with a higher rate of adverse effects. Even when toxicities, such as persistent diarrhea or stomatitis, are grade 2 or lower, Dr. Janne said, they represent a substantial clinical burden to patients. Additionally, although afatinib appears to offer an overall survival benefit in patients with exon 19 deletions, Dr. Janne concluded, “there is no ‘best’ tyrosine kinase inhibitor at this time. Those are very personal choices for both patients and physicians.”
