Gefitinib in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Abstract

Most patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) present with advanced disease and their long-term prognosis remains poor, even after platinum-based chemotherapy. EGF receptor (EGFR)-targeted therapies, such as gefitinib, have been subject to comprehensive clinical development. Several Phase II and III trials have evaluated the clinical efficacy of gefitinib as monotherapy in pretreated patients with advanced NSCLC, as well as both monotherapy and combined with chemotherapy in chemo-naive patients. A Phase III trial in heavily pretreated advanced NSCLC patients, 90% of whom were refractory, demonstrated some improvement in survival with gefitinib compared with placebo; however, the difference was not statistically significant in the overall population. A second large Phase III trial in patients with pretreated advanced NSCLC (INTEREST) demonstrated the noninferiority of gefitinib in comparison with docetaxel for overall survival together with an improved quality of life and tolerability profiles. As a result, gefitinib is expected to have a large impact in the management of pretreated patients with NSCLC.

Keywords::

• EGF receptor inhibition
• gefitinib
• INTEREST
• non-small-cell lung cancer
• targeted therapy

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript. Louise Picken from Complete Medical Communications provided medical writing support funded by AstraZeneca.