New generation of targeted drugs approved in China, lung cancer patients usher in new hope

Boehringer Ingelheim’s China headquarters announced in Shanghai on the 27th that the second-generation EGFR-targeted drug afatinib has been approved in China, bringing new hope to lung cancer patients in China.

170228-1 Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. There are about 600,000 new lung cancer patients every year, which is the leading cause of cancer death. With the development of lung cancer treatment research, it has been found that for lung cancer patients with certain gene mutations, targeted therapy will benefit patients more than chemotherapy. In China, the most common type of gene mutation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer is EGFR gene mutation, accounting for about 50%. For these patients, choosing EGFR-targeted drugs is the most ideal treatment plan.

At present, lung cancer can be roughly divided into non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer, of which non-small cell lung cancer accounts for 80-85% of all lung cancers. For patients with early stage lung cancer, comprehensive treatment methods that may include surgery are often used; for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, chemotherapy is traditionally given priority. However, because chemotherapy acts on cancer cells as well as normal cells, it will inevitably bring about greater side effects and increase the suffering of patients. With the continuous progress of precision medicine for lung cancer, it has been discovered that lung cancer has some special genetic changes. In view of the different types of gene mutations in lung cancer patients, the corresponding targeted drugs can be selected. Since targeted drugs only act on specific cancer cells, their efficacy and safety are better than chemotherapy.

It is reported that while the drug is approved for the treatment of EGFR mutation-positive lung cancer patients, it is also approved for locally advanced or metastatic squamous histological non-small cell lung cancer patients who have progressed during or after platinum-containing chemotherapy.

Before China's approval, afatinib has been approved for the treatment of EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer patients in more than 70 countries, and has become the first choice for EGFR targeted drugs in many countries.