AZD-9291

Osimertinib (Tagrisso™) is an oral, CNS-active, third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that targets EGFR TKI-sensitizing mutations and, crucially, the T790M mutation that often underlies acquired resistance to EGFR TKI therapy. Osimertinib has been approved in numerous countries for use in patients with T790M-positive advanced NSCLC. In the pivotal, international AURA3 trial in patients with T790M-positive advanced NSCLC who had disease progression after EGFR TKI therapy, osimertinib treatment significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS; primary endpoint) compared with platinum-pemetrexed therapy at the time of the primary analysis. PFS results were consistent across predefined subgroups of patients, including those with CNS metastases at baseline. There was no difference between treatment groups in overall survival at 26% maturity. Objective response rates (ORRs) and patient-reported outcomes for prespecified symptoms were also significantly improved with osimertinib relative to platinum-pemetrexed, with CNS ORRs in patients with CNS metastases more than twofold higher in the osimertinib than in the platinum-pemetrexed group.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: ;The most common mechanism of resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is acquisition of the T790M gatekeeper mutation. Third-generation EGFR TKIs irreversibly inhibit EGFR mutants (EGFRm), especially T790M, while sparing wild-type EGFR. There are several third-generation EGFR TKIs under development, including osimertinib, CO-1686 (rociletinib), HM61713 (olmutinib), ASP8273, and EGF816. These third-generation EGFR TKIs have shown promising efficacy with favorable toxicity profiles in the management of advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with an acquired T790M mutation (EGFR). In the present review, we will discuss the evolving treatment landscape of EGFRm NSCLC.;RECENT FINDINGS: ;The LUX-Lung 7 study demonstrated superior progression-free survival, time-to-treatment failure, and objective response rate with afatinib versus gefitinib, but no significant overall survival improvement in TKI-naïve EGFRm NSCLC patients. In EGFRm NSCLC patients harboring T790M after treatment with first-generation or second-generation EGFR TKIs, third-generation EGFR TKIs showed robust efficacy with tolerable toxicity. The updated results of phase I studies have demonstrated encouraging activity of first-line osimertinib in patients with EGFRm NSCLC.

Lung carcinoma is the leading cause of death by cancer in the world. Nowadays, most patients will experience disease progression during or after first-line chemotherapy demonstrating the need for new, effective second-line treatments. The only approved second-line therapies for patients without targetable oncogenic drivers are docetaxel, gemcitabine, pemetrexed, and erlotinib and for patients with target-specific oncogenes afatinib, osimertinib, crizotinib, alectinib, and ceritinib. In recent years, evidence on the role of antiangiogenic agents have been established as important and effective therapeutic targets in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nintedanib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting three angiogenesis-related transmembrane receptors (vascular endothelial growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor). Several preclinical and clinical studies have proven the usefulness of nintedanib as an anticancer agent for NSCLC. The most important study was the phase III LUME-Lung 1 trial, which investigated the combination of nintedanib with docetaxel for second-line treatment in advanced NSCLC patients. The significant improvement in overall survival and the manageable safety profile led to the approval of this new treatment in Europe.