Dr. Leal on Developments Made in EGFR Exon 20–Mutant NSCLC Treatment

Ticiana Leal, MD, associate professor, director, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Thoracic Medical Oncology Program, Emory University School of Medicine, discusses developments made in the treatment of patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion–mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Traditionally, patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations are administered platinum-based chemotherapy as frontline treatment, although they frequently will go on experience disease progression, according to Leal. TKIs such as erlotinib (Tarceva), afatinib (Gilotrif), and gefitinib (Iressa) have demonstrated limited efficacy in this patient population, Leal says. As such, this population of patients often experience poor outcomes and prognoses.

However, key developments, such as the May 2021 FDA approval of amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant), an EGFR-MET bispecific antibody, has served to provide patients with NSCLC who harbor EGFR exon 20 mutations with another treatment option, Leal explains. The regulatory decision was based on findings from the phase 1 CHRYSALIS trial (NCT02609776), Leal concludes.