Dr. Spigel Discusses the Development of Onartuzumab for the Treatment of Lung Cancer

David Spigel, MD, director, Lung Cancer Research Program, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses the development of onartuzumab for the treatment of patients with lung cancer.

Onartuzumab showed benefit initially in a phase II trial with regard to progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in combination with erlotinib for patients with refractory MET-positive lung cancer. Onartuzumab also showed activity in other settings in combination with other drugs. A phase III study of about 500 patients, however, showed no advantage to PFS, OS, or response rate.

Another MET inhibitor, tivantinib, also showed no benefit in patients with refractory non-small cell lung cancer.

Several questions remain regarding MET inhibitors, Spigel says, but it is known that the MET signaling pathway is important in oncogenesis.