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Gefitinib in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Martin Reck1

  • 1Department of Thoracic Oncology, Hospital Grosshansdorf, Grosshansdorf, Germany. dr.martin.reck@web.de

Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy
|April 21, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Gefitinib shows promise for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, particularly those pretreated. While not significantly improving survival in all refractory cases, it offers comparable survival to docetaxel with better quality of life.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has a poor prognosis, even with chemotherapy.
  • Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) targeted therapies are a focus in NSCLC treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the clinical efficacy of gefitinib in advanced NSCLC patients.
  • To compare gefitinib with chemotherapy and placebo in pretreated and chemo-naive NSCLC patients.

Main Methods:

  • Phase II and III clinical trials were conducted.
  • Gefitinib was assessed as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy.
  • Comparisons included placebo and docetaxel in pretreated advanced NSCLC patients.

Main Results:

  • A Phase III trial showed a non-statistically significant survival improvement with gefitinib versus placebo in refractory patients.
  • The INTEREST trial demonstrated gefitinib's noninferiority to docetaxel for overall survival.
  • Gefitinib offered improved quality of life and tolerability compared to docetaxel.

Conclusions:

  • Gefitinib is a viable treatment option for pretreated advanced NSCLC patients.
  • The drug offers comparable survival benefits to docetaxel with enhanced patient tolerability and quality of life.

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