Tagrisso shows unprecedented eight-year survival benefit in early-stage EGFR-mutated lung cancer in ADAURA trial

Updated exploratory data from the Phase III ADAURA trial show that AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso sustained a clinically meaningful overall survival advantage over placebo at the eight-year mark, in patients with early-stage EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer treated after complete tumor removal. The findings represent the longest survival follow-up ever reported in a global Phase III trial in this treatment setting.

The results were presented during the Presidential Symposium at the IASLC 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Seoul, South Korea, and were published simultaneously in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

At eight years, Tagrisso cut the risk of death by 47% compared with placebo in the trial’s primary population, covering Stage II and IIIA patients (hazard ratio 0.53, 95% CI: 0.38 to 0.75). Among the full trial population spanning Stages IB through IIIA, the risk reduction was 48% (hazard ratio 0.52, 95% CI: 0.39 to 0.71). An estimated 74% of Tagrisso-treated patients in the primary population were still alive at eight years, compared with 58% on placebo. In the full population, that gap was 79% versus 64%. The survival benefit held consistently across every predefined subgroup, matching what was seen at the trial’s planned final analysis.

Roy Herbst, director of the Dartmouth Cancer Center and the trial’s principal investigator, said the findings show patients continue to see meaningful, long-term benefit from starting adjuvant osimertinib early, pointing to the 16 percentage point gap in eight-year survival versus placebo. He called that result particularly notable given how many patients on placebo eventually crossed over to osimertinib after their disease recurred, and said the durability of the benefit strengthens the case for prioritizing EGFR testing at diagnosis so more patients can access the therapy.

Susan Galbraith, AstraZeneca’s executive vice president of oncology hematology R&D, said ADAURA keeps setting new benchmarks in early-stage EGFR-mutated lung cancer, with close to 80% of patients on adjuvant Tagrisso alive at eight years. She said the results reinforce the value of treating the disease early and cement Tagrisso’s position as the adjuvant standard of care and backbone therapy across all stages of the disease.

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Related Topics and Keywords

ADAURA trial, AstraZeneca, early-stage EGFR-mutated lung cancer, Tagrisso