KANTAR HEALTH BLOG

Results from three phase III trials of could change treatment practice, should be considered strong enough to convince physicians and their patients to increase use of adjuvant treatment. As these trials differed in their patient populations and offered differing efficacy/toxicity profiles, potential utilization of Tafinlar (dabrafenib, Novartis) with or without Mekinist (trametinib, Novartis) as well as Opdivo (nivolumab, Bristol-Myers Squibb / Ono Pharmaceuticals) will be discussed. It may not be as simple as “offer BRAF/MEK inhibition to BRAF mutant patients."

In order to improve patient care we can no longer afford to view the patient in isolation, but instead must explore all influences on a disease to gain the deepest understanding of patient behaviors and the motivators behind them. This blog reviews how exploring the psyche of an individual provides an enhanced understanding of disease and how it impacts a patient from a human perspective.

The data from MONARCH 3 could extend the data from MONARCH 2, and if approved add the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib (Eli Lily) to several other approved agents that are being combined with hormone therapy for HR+, HER2- breast cancer. As the data from MONARCH 3 (as well as MONARCH 2) suggest a slightly different toxicity profile from either Ibrance (palbociclib, Pfizer) or Kisqali (Novartis), the future competitive landscape that could arise is discussed.

In NSCLC, results were presented for Imfinzi (durvalumab, AstraZeneca) as consolidation therapy following chemoradiation for locally-advanced NSCLC (PACIFIC trial, LBA1). How this data will impact treatment practice in a potential new setting for this class will be discussed, as this is the first pivotal trial in lung in the non-metastatic setting.

FLAURA is the first head-to-head randomized trial of third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) Tagrisso (osimertinib, AstraZeneca) versus a first-generation TKI, and we knew from a press release that this trial met its primary endpoint of improved progression-free survival favoring Tagrisso. However, was the magnitude of benefit enough to allow Tagrisso to become well-positioned to become a new standard of care in first-line EGFR mutant NSCLC?