The FDA has approved afatinib (Gilotrif) for the treatment of patients with advanced squamous cell non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following progression on platinum-based chemotherapy, according to to Boehringer Ingelheim, the manufacturer of the irreversible EGFR inhibitor.

The approval was based on results from the phase III LUX-Lung 8 study, which compared second-line afatinib with erlotinib (Tarceva) in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. In the study, afatinib reduced the risk of both disease progression and death by 19% compared with erlotinib.

"The overall survival data and significant delay in lung cancer progression seen in the global head-to-head phase III trial demonstrated that Gilotrif is an effective new treatment option in this patient population," LUX-Lung 8 clinical trial investigator Shirish Gadgeel, MD, leader of the Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Team at the Karmanos Cancer Center, said in a statement. Click here to read the full article at OncLive.com