ASCO: First-Line Sunvozertinib Beats Chemo for Advanced NSCLC

THURSDAY, June 4, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations, sunvozertinib is superior to chemotherapy for first-line treatment, according to a study published online May 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 29 to June 2 in Chicago.Caicun Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., from Shanghai East Hospital, and colleagues randomly assigned patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertions to receive sunvozertinib or chemotherapy (163 and 161 patients, respectively) in a phase 3 international trial.The researchers found that compared with chemotherapy, sunvozertinib treatment led to significantly longer median progression-free survival (10.3 versus 7.5 months; hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.65). Progression-free survival was reported in 46.1 and 26.7 percent of patients in the sunvozertinib and chemotherapy groups, respectively, at 12 months; the data for overall survival were immature. The percentage of patients with an objective response was 58.9 and 31.1 percent in the sunvozertinib and chemotherapy groups, respectively; the median best percentage change in tumor size was −42.1 and −24.7 percent, respectively; median response duration was 11.2 months in the sunvozertinib group and 7.1 months in the chemotherapy group. Overall, 75.5 and 56.7 percent of patients in the sunvozertinib and chemotherapy groups, respectively, had grade 3 or higher adverse events."These results show that sunvozertinib can control the disease longer and shrink tumors more often than chemotherapy, offering a new, much-needed option for those starting treatment," lead author John V. Heymach, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said in a statement.Several authors disclosed ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including Dizal Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures sunvozertinib and funded the study.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)More Information.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

ASCO: First-Line Sunvozertinib Beats Chemo for Advanced NSCLC

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