Genetically Tailored Treatment for Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

In patients with a specific genetic profile, progression-free survival was twice as long with gefitinib than with standard chemotherapy as first-line treatment.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been shown to provide clinical and survival benefits as second- or third-line treatment for advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The greatest benefits have been demonstrated in NSCLC patients with activating mutations in the kinase domain of the EGFR protein. Now, in a randomized trial, investigators in Japan have compared the efficacy of EGFR-TKI gefitinib (250 mg/day orally) with that of a traditional platinum doublet (carboplatin plus paclitaxel) in patients with NSCLC and activating EGFR mutations who had not previously received chemotherapy.

The study was designed to enroll 320 patients. According to a prespecified interim analysis of the first…

Reviewing Author

Lin-Chi Chen, MD, PhD