Dive Brief:
- Lung cancer patients treated with Giotrif (afatanib) lived three to 11 months longer than they would have with standard therapy, studies indicate.
- Giotrif is currently approved for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) .
- There are side effects that may make it difficult for some patients to take Giotrif..
Dive Insight:
In phase III studies, Giotrif-treated patients with the most common cell receptor mutations lived three months longer. However, patients with axon 19 deletion mutation lived on average 11 months longer. The data, which was presented at ASCO, is encouraging, except for the side effects. The most troubling side effect has been diarrhea.