“After five years, 88% of patients who took the daily pill after the removal of their tumour were still alive, compared with 78% of patients treated with a placebo.”
That is a ten-point gap in absolute survival, sold as “cuts risk of death by half.” The Adaura trial covered 682 patients, all with an EGFR mutation found in about a quarter of lung cancers. Not everyone diagnosed even gets tested for that mutation. AstraZeneca has a blockbuster in Tagrisso, and patients who never get the test will not see it.