Advances in clinical application of afatinib in advanced non-small cell lung cancer based on the LUX-Lung trials
10.3781/j.issn.1000-7431.2017.55.049
- Author:
Ziyuan ZOU
1
Author Information
1. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Afatinib;
Antineoplastic combined chemotherapy protocols;
Carcinoma, non-small cell lung;
Receptor, epidermal growth factor;
Tyrosine kinase inhibitor
- From:
Tumor
2017;37(7):801-806
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Afatinib which is orally administered is an irreversible inhibitor of theepidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family tyrosine kinase. TheLUX-Lung 7 trial has shown that in the first-line treatment of patientswith advanced EGFR -mutant lung adenocarcinoma, afatinib couldsignificantly improve the progression-free survival (PFS) and the timeto treatment failure (TTF) as compared with gefitinib, but failed toachieve clinical benefit for the overall survival (OS). As compared withpemetrexed plus cisplatin regimen (LUX-Lung 3 trial) and gemcitabineplus cisplatin regimen (LUX-Lung 6 trial), afatinib could significantlyprolong the PFS, but not the OS. However, it is worth noting that bothLUX-Lung 3 trial and LUX-Lung 6 trial have shown that in the subgroup of patients with 19 exon deletion mutation of EGFR , the OS was significantly prolonged whenreceiving afatinib treatment versus chemotherapy. In addition, in the second-line treatment ofadvanced squamous-cell lung carcinoma, afatinib has shown to significantly prolong the PFSand OS as compared with erlotinib, regardless of EGFR mutation status (LUX-Lung 8 trial). Sideeffects of afatinib treatment in patients with NSCLC could be prevented by lowering the dose.In conclusion, afatinib can be used in the first-line treatment for patients with EGFR -mutantadvanced NSCLC, and also can be used in the second-line treatment of squamous-cell lungcarcinoma with progression after platinum-based chemotherapy.
