Adjusting Poziotinib Dosing to Reduce Toxicity for Patients With EGFR+ or HER2 exon 20–Positive NSCLC
Xiuning Le, MD, PhD, discusses the reasoning behind splitting the dose of poziotinib dose in order to reduce adverse effects and improve efficacy for the treatment of EGFR- or HER2 exon 20–positive non–small cell lung cancer.
Xiuning Le, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of thoracic/head and neck medical oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the reasoning behind splitting the dose of poziotinib dose in order to reduce adverse effects (AEs) and improve efficacy for the treatment of EGFR- or HER2 exon 20–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
According to Le, the observation was based on the results of cohort 5 of the phase 2 ZENITH20 clinical trial (NCT03318939), which was similar to the other 4 cohorts in terms of allowing patients with genetically-mutated NSCLC such as those with EGFR, or HER2 exon 20 mutations. However, instead of receiving the whole 16 mg of poziotinib at once, patients took an 8 mg pill twice daily.
The goal was to maintain or improve efficacy while managing the drug’s intrinsic AEs, most notably rash and diarrhea. Both of these AEs can impact a patient’s quality of life substantially, noted Le.
