Health · Medical Research · 2 hrs ago
Osimertinib and savolitinib combo improves outcomes in some lung cancer patients
A phase 3 trial found a drug combination helped some lung cancer patients whose disease had progressed after osimertinib treatment.
The patients had non-small cell lung cancer with an EGFR mutation and a MET gene alteration.
The combination of osimertinib and savolitinib was compared with chemotherapy.
It reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 45% compared with chemotherapy.
Median overall survival was 4.9 months longer with the combination: 17.8 months versus 12.9 months.
The findings were presented at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology congress and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Further MET testing can identify patients who may benefit, because the results do not apply to everyone whose lung cancer progresses.
A phase 3 study found that osimertinib, sold as Tagrisso, combined with savolitinib reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 45% compared with chemotherapy in a selected group of people with non-small cell lung cancer.
The group had an EGFR mutation and a MET gene alteration after developing resistance to osimertinib.
Median overall survival was 17.8 months with the combination and 12.9 months with chemotherapy.
The results were presented at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology congress and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Doctors said further molecular testing at disease progression is needed to identify patients who may benefit.
- Who
- People with non-small cell lung cancer, an EGFR mutation and a MET gene alteration after osimertinib treatment.
- What
- A phase 3 study found that osimertinib plus savolitinib improved outcomes compared with chemotherapy.
- When
- The results were presented at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology congress and published at the same time. The articles were published on October 25 and 26, 2026.
- Where
- The results were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology congress. The congress location is not stated in the detailed study report.
- Why
- The combination was studied as a treatment option for patients whose cancer develops resistance to osimertinib associated with MET alterations.
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- Progression or death risk
- 45% lower with the combination than with chemotherapy
- Median overall survival
- 17.8 months with the combination; 12.9 months with chemotherapy
- One-year progression-free estimate
- 36% with the combination; 10% in the comparison group
- One-year survival estimate
- 70% with the combination; 53% in the comparison group
- Estimated patients affected in Italy
- About 1,500 each year
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What people are saying
These results mark a decisive step toward a new treatment standard for patients with non-small cell lung cancer with an EGFR mutation who develop acquired resistance mediated by MET gene alterations after osimertinib treatment.
The important results of the Saffron study, however, do not apply to all patients with lung cancer whose disease progresses and, in particular, do not apply to all cases with an EGFR mutation, but require rigorous selection.
The results of the Saffron study show that the combination of the MET inhibitor savolitinib with osimertinib provides superior clinical efficacy and longer-term tumour control than standard platinum-based chemotherapy.