The patient's perspective on treatment with dacomitinib: patient-reported outcomes from the Phase III trial ARCHER 1050

Aim: Patient-reported symptoms, functioning and overall quality of life (QoL) were compared between dacomitinib and gefitinib in ARCHER 1050. Patients & methods: Patients (n = 448) with advanced EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer completed the EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire and its lung-specific module, LC-13. Mean scores over time were analyzed using a mixed model for repeated measures. Results: Both treatments showed early improvement in disease-related symptoms that was maintained during treatment. Treatment-related diarrhea and sore mouth decreased following dose reduction with dacomitinib. There were no clinically meaningful changes in functioning and overall QoL in either treatment group. Conclusion: Longer treatment duration, enabled by dose reduction, allowed patients on dacomitinib to improve treatment-related symptoms and maintain functioning and overall QoL for longer than gefitinib. Lay abstract: Aim: In the ARCHER 1050 study, patients with EGFR-positive lung cancer who were treated with the drug dacomitinib (brand name Vizimpro(R)) lived longer than patients treated with the drug gefitinib (brand name Iressa(R)). As part of this study, we looked at how patients felt treatment impacted their quality of life (QoL), symptoms and ability to function in their daily lives. Patients & methods: Patients were treated with either 45 mg of oral dacomitinib per day or 250 mg of oral gefitinib per day and completed two disease-specific questionnaires at their first visit and at regular intervals during the study. Results: Patients receiving both treatments reported early improvements in disease-related symptoms such as cough and chest pain, which were maintained during treatment. Diarrhea and sore mouth were common treatment-related symptoms in patients treated with dacomitinib, which improved after reducing the dose. Overall QoL and ability to function did not change over time in either treatment group. Conclusion: Patients treated with dacomitinib were able to improve their disease-related symptoms and maintain their QoL and ability to function for a longer time than patients on gefitinib. This was possible due to longer treatment duration, helped by the possibility to reduce dose with dacomitinib.