According to a recent Guardian article, a long-term global study revealed that a daily pill called osimertinib can reduce the risk of dying from lung cancer by 51%. The study, led by Yale University and presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting, involved patients with non-small cell lung cancer who had a mutation of the EGFR gene, which is present in about a quarter of global lung cancer cases. The results showed that taking osimertinib after surgery significantly lowered the risk of death and also halved the risk of disease recurrence.
The pill, commercially also known as Tagrisso and manufactured by AstraZeneca, was found to be effective regardless of prior chemotherapy treatment and in both smokers and non-smokers. The study's lead author emphasized the importance of identifying patients with the EGFR mutation and making osimertinib the standard of care for them.
