Afatinib versus gemcitabine/cisplatin for first-line treatment of Chinese patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer harboring EGFR mutations: subgroup analysis of the LUX-Lung 6 trial

Yi-Long Wu,1 Chong-Rui Xu,1 Cheng-Ping Hu,2 Jifeng Feng,3 Shun Lu,4 Yunchao Huang,5 Wei Li,6 Mei Hou,7 Jian Hua Shi,8 Angela Märten,9 Jean Fan,10 Barbara Peil,11 Caicun Zhou12 1Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Guangdong General Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; 2Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Jiangsu Provincial Tumor Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; 4Shanghai Lung Cancer Center, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; 5Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yunnan Tumor Hospital (The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University), Kunming, Yunnan, China; 6Department of Hematology & Oncology, Cancer Center, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China; 7Lung Cancer Centre, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; 8Department of Oncology, Lin Yi Tumor Hospital, Linyi, Shandong, China; 9Department of Oncology, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Ingelheim, Germany; 10Department of Oncology, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ridgefield, CT, USA; 11Department of Oncology, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Ingelheim, Germany; 12Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China Introduction: Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer death in China. Four epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors – afatinib, erlotinib, icotinib, and gefitinib – are available for first-line treatment of NSCLC in China; however, there are few data to guide treatment choice. The Phase III LUX-Lung 6 trial compared afatinib with platinum-based chemotherapy for first-line treatment of patients from Southeast Asia with EGFR mutation-positive advanced NSCLC. This post hoc analysis assessed the findings from LUX-Lung 6