Drug extends life in some early-stage lung cancers

Ever since the Food and Drug Administration approved osimertinib for some early-stage lung cancer patients to take after surgery, clinicians have debated whether the evidence suggested the drug was worth the cost. The initial results of the phase 3 trial testing the drug were “phenomenal,” said Sandeep Patel, a medical oncologist at the University of California, San Diego. The issue was the overall survival analysis wasn’t done yet, what Patel called the gold standard measure for drugs in this setting.

“For folks that want a higher standard of evidence before giving a costly treatment, it was reasonable to hold off and await this data,” Patel said.