Osimertinib (Tagrisso) has been TGA registered as adjuvant therapy after tumour resection in early stage, EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
It is the first targeted therapy available to prevent recurrence of disease in this patient group.
The evidence comes from the international ADAURA trial, which included Australian sites and investigators.
The RCT, published in the NEJM last year found an 83% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death in the osimertinib group compared to the control group.
In patients with stage II to IIIb disease, 90% of the osimertinib group were alive and disease-free at 24 months compared to 44% of controls (p<0.001).
Dr Steven Kao, from Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, told the limbic that osimertinib was also shown to significantly reduce the risk of brain metastases.