NICE recommends Vargatef plus docetaxel for NSCLC (adenocarcinoma)-Boehringer

Following a review by NICE in the UK, Vargatef (nintedanib), from Boehringer, in combination with docetaxel has been recommended for use within the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales, for patients with locally advanced metastatic or locally recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) of adenocarcinoma histology who have had limited treatment options that have been shown to extend survival after first-line chemotherapy. Nintedanib, in combination with docetaxel, is the first and only triple angiokinase inhibitor available for EU patients with advanced NSCLC of adenocarcinoma histology after first-line chemotherapy.

This is based on the outcomes of the LUME-Lung 1 study which demonstrated that nintedanib, plus docetaxel, significantly prolonged progression-free survival compared to docetaxel alone for patients with adenocarcinoma (PFS: primary endpoint; 4.0 vs 2.8 months). In addition, nintedanib, plus docetaxel, significantly extended overall survival to beyond one year for patients with adenocarcinoma, compared to docetaxel alone (OS: key secondary endpoint; 12.6 vs 10.3 months). Finally, nintedanib, plus docetaxel, enabled 1 in 4 patients with adenocarcinoma to live for at least two years after first-line chemotherapy.