Boehringer's afatinib misses lung cancer endpoint

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH (Ingelheim, Germany) said afatinib plus best supportive care (BSC) missed the primary endpoint of significantly improving overall survival vs. placebo plus BSC in the Phase IIb/III LUX-Lung 1 trial to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (10.78 vs. 11.96 months). The dual inhibitor of EGFR and HER2 did meet the secondary endpoint of significantly improving progression-free survival (PFS) vs. placebo (3.3 vs. 1.1 months, p<0.0001). The double-blind, international trial enrolled more than 580 patients with advanced NSCLC who had previously received chemotherapy and either Tarceva erlotinib or Iressa gefitinib. Data were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Milan. ...