Dr. West on Advancements for Patients With T790M-Mutant NSCLC

Howard L. (Jack) West, MD, medical oncologist, director, Thoracic Oncology Program, Swedish Cancer Institute, discusses recent advancements for patients with T790M-mutant non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The setting of acquired resistance for patients with T790M-positive NSCLC has undergone several changes over the last couple of years. While osimertinib (Tagrisso) and rociletinib were previously thought to be the two top agents for this population, rociletinib's activity was questionable and the drug was ultimately withdrawn from ongoing clinical trials in May 2016.

Osimiertinib was approved by the FDA in November 2015, and elicted a valuable reason to test patients for the T790M mutation, West explains. T790M is present in 50-60% of patients who have acquired resistance. This agent, which is well tolerated, is associated with a response rate of 60% and a 90% disease-control rate.