Commentary
2009 Aug 26, Lee Schwartzberg, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief
Old paradigms for the treatment of cancer are crumbling rapidly. This trial proves that careful selection of the right population for an anticancer agent previously considered marginally active yields superior results. Use of clinicopathologic parameters—Asian ethnicity, adenocarcinoma histology, and nonsmoking status—identified a target population of patients with non–small cell lung cancer who derived higher response rates and PFS, as well as better QOL, from therapy with gefitinib, an epidermal growth factor (EGFR) inhibitor, compared with standard combination chemotherapy. Using the presence of an EGFR mutation as a biomarker further refined the selection process and further improved the clinical benefit of gefitinib.
Gefitinib Improves PFS in Asian Patients With EGFR-Positive NSCLC
N Engl J Med, 2009 Aug 19, TS Mok, et al
Gefitinib is superior to carboplatin-paclitaxel as initial therapy in Asian patients, especially if EGFR mutation is present.
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