First-line treatment with erlotinib prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) and increased the response rate compared with treatment with chemotherapy in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activating mutations, according to an interim analysis of this phase 3 randomized European Tarceva vs Chemotherapy (EURTAC) trial presented at the 14thWorld Conference on Lung Cancer.
In a study of 153 evaluable NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations, PFS on erlotinib was 9.4 months compared with 5.2 months on platinum-based chemotherapy (P <.0001); response rates were 54.5% and 10.5%, respectively (P <.0001); median survival was 22.9 months and 18.8 months, respectively (P = .42). Toxicity with erlotinib was acceptable: diarrhea (57.3%), asthenia (53.3%), and rash (49.3%).
In a statement, lead author Radj Gervais, MD, Centre François Baclesse, Caen, France, said: “Our results showed that first-line erlotinib nearly doubled progression-free survival; that’s a significant improvement over chemotherapy, with a better tolerability profile. We now have results for the use of first-line erlotinib in Asian and Western EGFR mutation–positive patients with NSCLC, and so we can carry this knowledge into our daily practice. I think EURTAC rally is a big step toward individualized lung cancer care.”
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