Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS

Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, discusses the rationale for conducting the FLAURA trial in patients with

-mutant nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and how the use of osimertinib (Tagrisso) impacted the treatment landscape for this patient population.

FLAURA was a large randomized phase III trial that was conducted in multiple countries. It aimed to answer the question of which EGFR inhibitor is best for frontline use in patients with

mutant NSCLC. At the time the study was conducted, first- and second-generation EGFR inhibitors were the standard of care, but Piotrowska says many patients who progressed on these drugs went on to develop the

For these patients, osimertinib appeared to work as an excellent second-line option. The agent had a great safety profile, says Piotrowska, as well as low rates of diarrhea and rash. The agent also had good central nervous system penetration, so all of this activity led investigators to wonder if it would be a better option in the first-line setting.

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Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, discusses the rationale for conducting the FLAURA trial in patients with&nbsp;<em>EGFR</em>-mutant non&ndash;small cell lung cancer and how the use of osimertinib impacted the treatment landscape for this patient population.

Examining the Impact of the FLAURA Trial in EGFR-Mutant NSCLC

Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, discusses the data from the randomized phase III FLAURA trial, which led to the widespread use of frontline osimertinib (Tagrisso) for the treatment of

Prior to these data, the standard of care was first-generation EGFR inhibitors, such as erlotinib (Tarceva) or gefitinib (Iressa). Osimertinib showed promising responses in the second-line setting for patients who developed a T790M resistance mutation as well, Piotrowska says. The agent had a great safety profile and encouraging activity, so it was evaluated in the FLAURA trial as a frontline option, according to Piotrowska.

The primary end point of the study was progression-free survival, and the data demonstrated

improvement with osimertinib. Based on recent data, the overall survival findings were also positive and demonstrated improvement compared with the standard of care, erlotinib or gefitinib.&nbsp;

These positive results led many physicians to use osimertinib as the preferred frontline treatment of

<< View more resources and information regarding the FLAURA trial

Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, discusses the data from the randomized phase III FLAURA trial, which led to the widespread use of frontline osimertinib for the treatment of&nbsp;EGFR-mutant lung cancers.

Phase III Data Support Frontline Osimertinib in EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancers

Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, discusses the results from the phase III RELAY trial that investigated first-generation EGFR inhibitor erlotinib (Tarceva) plus the VEGF-directed antibody ramucirumab (Cyramza) in patients with

The results were presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, and the trial was positive. Erlotinib plus ramucirumab led to an improvement in progression-free survival compared with erlotinib monotherapy. However, Piotrowska says it remains to be seen how this combination regimen should be incorporated into the current treatment landscape for patients with

-mutant lung cancer. Currently, osimertinib (Tagrisso) is the standard comparator arm for trials like RELAY.

Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, discusses the results from the phase III RELAY trial that investigated first-generation EGFR inhibitor erlotinib plus the VGEF-directed antibody ramucirumab in patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer.<br />
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Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS | Authors

Articles

Examining the Impact of the FLAURA Trial in EGFR-Mutant NSCLC

Phase III Data Support Frontline Osimertinib in EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancers

Erlotinib Plus Ramucirumab Show Promising Activity in EGFR+ Lung Cancer