Tony S.K. Mok, BMSc, MD, FRCPC

Tony S. K. Mok, BMSc, MD, FRCPC, chairman of the Department of Clinical Oncology and Li Shu Fan Professor of Clinical Oncology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, discusses the ADAURA trial (NCT02511106) of osimertinib (Tagrisso) in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Mok says, if there was an Oscar Award for the lung cancer setting in 2020, then it would probably go to the ADAURA trial. The findings for ADAURA were published in the

 and reported the efficacy of osimertinib for patients who are 

-mutated with resectable NSCLC in the adjuvant setting.

The primary end point was disease-free survival (DFS) in patient with stage II/IIIa disease. The DFS hazard ratio was 0.17. With the DFS and impressive hazard ratio, Mok says there is a reasonable chance that it may translate into an overall survival (OS) benefit.

Mok believes that every patient with resectable 

-mutant lung cancer should be informed about the study. The question of whether we should wait for OS data is debatable; if a patient does not know about this potential option, then they don’t have a choice. He wonders what would happen if there is OS benefit years later, but patients had not been informed? This is an important study, and patients should be informed about it, Mok concluded.

Videos

Tony S. K. Mok, BMSc, MD, FRCPC, discusses the ADAURA trial of osimertinib in patients with non–small cell lung cancer.

Analyzing the ADAURA Trial of Osimertinib in EGFR+ Lung Cancer

Tony S.K. Mok, BMSc, MD, FRCPC, professor, Department of Clinical Oncology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital Hong Kong, China, discusses the utility of afatinib in patients with lung cancer.

Results from the LUX-Lung 3 trial demonstrated benefit with afatinib compared with cisplatin/pemetrexed in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma with

How afatinib compares with other TKIs is still up for debate

The Utility of Afatinib in Lung Cancer

Tony S.K. Mok, BMSc, MD, FRCPC, professor, Department of Clinical Oncology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital Hong Kong, China, discusses different plasma testing approaches for patients with lung cancer.

Mok says that a physician has the option to conduct a plasma test when the diagnosis is being made. By the time the lung cancer diagnosis is confirmed, a physician will have plasma testing results available. If the test is positive, treatment can begin, but if it is negative, a physician can subject the tumor for testing. If good tissue cannot be obtained for testing, a physician can use plasma as a testing method. However, Mok says, physicians should be aware that plasma test sensitivity is only 76%.

If a plasma test is positive, treatment can begin

If a plasma test is negative, a physician can subject the tumor for testing

Plasma Testing Approaches for Lung Cancer

Tony S.K. Mok, BMSc, MD, FRCPC, Professor, Department of Clinical Oncology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital Hong Kong, China, discusses how to improve the strategy of developing treatments for lung cancer.

Mok says in order to move forward, multiple parties such as pharmaceutical industries, academic institutions, and the FDA have to make changes.

As an example, Mok says, the FDA should look into how it registers drugs because the current practice of demanding a companion diagnostic may actually be slowing down the development of the drug.

Mok also suggests making changes to the pharmaceutical industry by having external tribunals advise pharmaceutical companies on which drugs to develop rather than wasting money by trying to develop many drugs.

Pharmaceutical industries, academic institutions, and the FDA are among those that need to make changes in order to move lung cancer treatment forward

The FDA should reevaluate how it registers drugs so it does not slow down the development of the drug

Pharmaceutical companies should have external tribunals to choose which drugs to develop in order to save money

Tony S.K. Mok, BMSc, MD, FRCPC, from the Prince of Wales Hospital Hong Kong, China, discusses how to improve the strategy of developing treatments for lung cancer.

Tony S.K. Mok, BMSc, MD, FRCPC | Authors

Articles

Analyzing the ADAURA Trial of Osimertinib in EGFR+ Lung Cancer

The Utility of Afatinib in Lung Cancer

Plasma Testing Approaches for Lung Cancer

Improving Lung Cancer Drug Development