Afatinib Reevaluated for Added Benefit in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Cancer drug may benefit patients with specific genetic mutation.

Afatinib has been approved since September 2013 to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with activating EGF receptor mutations who have not been treated with an EGF receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitor.

The drug has been reassessed to see whether it offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care. The new benefit assessment was conducted because a limitation of the corresponding decision by the Federal Joint Commission expired in May 2015.

The assessment was based off data collected in 2014. Evaluable data were only available for treatment-naïve patients in relatively good general condition.

There is still evidence of a major added benefit to those patients with the EGFR mutation Del19 and a hint of benefit to those with L858R mutation.

In patients with other EGFR mutations, the institute no longer detected an indication, but only a hint of lesser benefit versus the comparator therapy. There was no relevant data for pretreated patients.