Tarceva approval
August 14, 2012
THE Therapeutic Goods
Administration has approved the
targeted cancer treatment, Tarceva
(erlotinib), for first-line treatment
of patients with advanced (stage
IIIB) or metastatic (stage IV) nonsmall
cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with
epidermal growth factor receptor
(EGFR) activating mutations, which
can be determined through a
diagnostic test.
Tarceva, an oral medication, is
already approved for second-line
use in people with metastatic or
advanced NSCLC, irrespective of
their EGFR status, both as
maintenance therapy in patients
who have not progressed on firstline
chemotherapy and in patients
who failed prior chemotherapy.
Tarceva slows disease progression
by targeting the human epidermal
growth factor receptor (EGFR)
pathway- a key component of the
signalling pathway, which plays a
role in the formation and growth of
numerous cancers.
The drug works by blocking
tumour cell growth by inhibiting
the tyrosine kinase activity of the
EGFR signalling pathway inside the
cell.
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