Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca India on March 10 announced that it has received marketing approval for Tagrisso (Osimertinib) for adjuvant treatment after complete tumour resection in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whose tumours have epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations.

Osimertinib, a once-daily oral pill, when given to patients of lung cancer whose tumour has a specific mutation called EGFR mutation and who have undergone surgical removal of the lung tumour, has shown to decrease the risk of cancer recurrence by nearly 83 per cent in the ADAURA clinical trial in early-stage lung cancer patients, the company said in a statement.

"AstraZeneca has always been and will continue to bring forward world-class treatment solutions for non-communicable diseases," said the Managing Director, AstraZeneca India. "The regulatory approval of Tagrisso (Osimertinib) in India will provide better medicine for the management of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and help patients attain a better quality of life," he added.

Osimertinib is the first targeted oral treatment option to show such a significant benefit in terms of cancer-free survival in early lung cancers with EGFRm positivity. Cancer spread to the brain and other organs is one of the important cause of recurrence in early-stage lung cancer. Osimertinib has shown to decrease the chances of cancer spreading to the brain & other distant organs. According to the Global Cancer Survey (GLOBOCAN), in 2018, the total number of new lung cancer cases was 67,795 and 63,475 deaths were reported, making lung cancer a very aggressive and devastating type of cancer.