EURTAC first line therapy for non small cell lung carcinoma in epidermal growth factor receptor mutation positive patients: A choice between two TKIs

The objective of the EURTAC trial was to examine the efficacy of first line erltoinib compared to chemotherapy in patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors harboured an epidermal growth factor receptor mutation (EGFR M+) Caucasian patients were randomized to erlotinib or chemotherapy. A positive result was expected and found. Patients treated with erlotinib had a progression free survival (PFS) of 9.7 versus 5.2 months with chemotherapy giving a hazard ratio of 0.37 P<0.0001 (1).