Boehringer Ingelheim, a leading pharmaceutical company, recently presented its new treatment for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at an educational session held in Dubai, UAE.

The Lux Lung 3 and Lux Lung 6 trials showed that the treatment increases the overall survival (especially in patients with exon 19 del), delays the tumour progression for the patients, and improves lung cancer related symptoms.

During Boehringer Ingelheim’s educational session, the doctors emphasised that lung cancer is not only one disease and can be categorised in two subtypes: NSCLC and small cell lung cancer (SCLC).  NSCLC is the most common form worldwide with approximately 85 per cent and can be further divided into three types.

The experts also discussed the challenges of the treatment for NSCLC, since chemotherapy for an advanced level of this disease has reached a plateau.  Therefore, they explained the importance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) testing and the benefits of targeted therapies, selective therapy able to act on specific molecular structures or according to the mutation subtype.

“Although lung cancer incidence rates and mortalities are lower in the Arab world in comparison to those in Europe or the US, the numbers in the region are currently on the rise. There is a lack of awareness about the disease, and therefore, with the help of Boehringer Ingelheim, we hope to address this issue and educate the region about lung cancer. Other challenges in the region include the absence of a smoking cessation programme, no available lung cancer screening programmes, and lack of molecular studies, PET scans, and lack of targeted therapy,” said Dr Abdul-Rahman Jazieh, chairman and consultant of department of oncology, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“We are excited to be introducing the new Boehringer Ingelheim therapeutic area for oncology in the Mena region, currently focusing on lung cancer” said Dr Sherif Khattab, head of Oncology, Boehringer Ingelheim META. “This new franchise establishment demonstrates Boehringer Ingelheim’s long-term commitment to providing advanced cancer therapies by discovering and developing innovative treatment options with the aim of bettering the lives of the patients and their families.”

The ErbB Family of receptors consists of four related enzymes called tyrosine kinases: EGFR (ErbB1), HER2 (ErbB2), ErbB3 and ErbB4, which greatly contribute to the growth and division of cells in many cancers. The treatment by Boehringer Ingelheim irreversibly blocks these signals and aims to provide a sustained, selective and complete ErbB Family Blockade and therefore stopping the spread of the cancer cells.

Based on data from the pivotal LUX-Lung 3 and Lux Lung 6 trials sr and other Phase II and III trials in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patient population, this treatment allowed NSCLC patients with tumours harbouring the two most common EGFR mutations to live for well over a year without tumour progression (progression-free survival PFS of 13.6 months) versus just over half a year (PFS of 6.9 months) with the chemotherapy. Del19 is the most common type of EGFR mutation and accounts for 50% of all EGFR mutations. For patients with the del19 mutation, the treatment prolonged median overall survival by 12.2 months versus chemotherapy in the LUX-Lung 3 trial, and 13.0 months versus chemotherapy in the LUX-Lung 6 trial. In turn, patients experienced better and longer control and improvement of the most common lung cancer-related symptoms, resulting in a better quality of life for the patients, in order for them to continue leading their lives as normally as possible.

With the launch of the new oncology therapeutic area in the Mena region, Boehringer Ingelheim will continue to focus its research in areas of unmet medical need and develop targeted therapies that will address the requirements of cancer patients in those countries. – TradeArabia News Service