AstraZeneca's approved lung cancer drug Tagrisso (osimertinib) reduced the risk of death by 51 percent in a phase 3 study that involved 682 patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
About 88 percent of patients who took Tagrisso were alive at five years, and the placebo had a 78 percent survival rate, according to a June 2 news release. Those in the placebo group who recurred with metastatic disease had the chance to take Tagrisso as a subsequent treatment.
The participants had early-stage, epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. A median overall survival rate was not reached within months but was achieved after five years.