A plain language review of results from the LAURA study: osimertinib after chemoradiotherapy for patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer that cannot be removed by surgery.
Journal
Future oncology (London, England)
Journal Volume
22
Journal Issue
11
Start Page
1247
End Page
1262
ISSN
1744-8301
Date Issued
2026-05
Author(s)
Lu, Shun
Kato, Terufumi
Dong, Xiaorong
Ahn, Myung-Ju
Quang, Le-Van
Soparattanapaisarn, Nopadol
Inoue, Takako
Wang, Chih-Liang
Huang, Meijuan
Cobo, Manuel
Özgüroğlu, Mustafa
Casarini, Ignacio
Sriuranpong, Virote
Cronemberger, Eduardo
Takahashi, Toshiaki
Runglodvatana, Yotsawaj
Chen, Ming
Huang, Xiangning
Grainger, Ellie
Ghiorghiu, Dana
van der Gronde, Toon
Ramalingam, Suresh S
Abstract
We review current standard treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread to nearby tissues and/or nearby parts of the immune system called lymph nodes (stage III) that could not be removed by surgery (unresectable), and had an EGFR mutation. The epidermal growth factor receptor (known as EGFR) is a type of protein present on the surface of some cells, which controls how cells grow and divide. Mutations in the EGFR gene can result in the development of lung cancer. We include a summary of results from the LAURA study, which evaluated osimertinib treatment for these patients. Osimertinib is a medicine that blocks the activity of mutated EGFR protein on cancer cells, causing cancer cell death and tumor shrinkage. The LAURA study focused on unresectable stage III EGFR-mutated NSCLC treated with chemoradiotherapy (a combination of a medicine and radiation therapy to kill cancer cells and shrink the tumor); if the cancer did not grow or spread during or after this treatment, patients were enrolled in LAURA and randomly assigned to receive osimertinib or placebo.Osimertinib significantly increased the time that patients lived without the cancer growing or spreading (called progression-free survival). Patients who received osimertinib had the median progression-free survival extended by 33.6 months, compared with placebo. The median timepoint of progression-free survival is a type of average at which half of the patients were alive without the cancer growing or spreading. The most common side effects were lung inflammation from radiotherapy (radiation pneumonitis), diarrhea and rash, consistent with what we already know about osimertinib and chemoradiotherapy.Findings from the LAURA study led to regulatory approvals and guideline recommendations for using osimertinib to treat patients with unresectable stage III EGFR-mutated NSCLC, whose cancer has not grown or spread (progressed) during or after chemoradiotherapy.: NCT03521154.
Subjects
EGFR-mutated
Non-small cell lung cancer
Osimertinib
Plain language review
Stage III
Unresectable
Type
journal article