Michael R. Page, PharmD, RPh

With the FDA approval of several oral chemotherapy agents, the cost of medications to treat cancer is increasing rapidly. To control costs, legislators, patient advocates, and physicians have pushed for oral chemotherapy parity laws.

Afatinib (Gilotrif) tablets were approved by the FDA on July 15, 2013, as a first-line oral treatment for non– small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations. The oral tablets became commercially available in the United States September 2.