Targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor following complete surgical resection in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer.

INTRODUCTION

Activating mutations in the () gene are one of the most common targetable oncogenic drivers of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Osimertinib is a third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) that selectively inhibits EGFR-TKI sensitizing ( or ) and mutations and has superior CNS penetration. Osimertinib is approved in mutant stage IB-IIIA NSCLC following complete tumor resection.

AREAS COVERED

This review opinion article summarizes the pivotal studies that led to the approval of current adjuvant therapies in NSCLC with the primary focus on EGFR-TKI osimertinib and outlines the future strategies in the era of neoadjuvant immunotherapy and emerging novel roles of EGFR targeting therapies. The literature search has been performed using PubMed, Food and Drug Administration website, and Google search.

EXPERT OPINION

Osimertinib showed significant and clinically meaningful disease-free survival benefit compared to placebo in mutant stage IB-IIIA NSCLC following complete tumor resection. Whether this will lead to improvement in overall survival and the optimal length of treatment remain open questions and are much-debated topic in the lung cancer field.