First-Line Zongertinib in Advanced <i>HER2</i> -Mutant Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer
BACKGROUND: )-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Zongertinib is an oral, irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor that selectively inhibits HER2 while sparing wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), thereby minimizing associated toxic effects. METHODS: -mutant NSCLC. Here, we evaluated zongertinib at a dose of 120 mg once daily in patients who had not previously received treatment (cohort 2). The primary end point was objective response as assessed by blinded independent central review. Secondary end points included duration of response and progression-free survival. In addition, zongertinib was evaluated in patients with active brain metastases (exploratory cohort 4). RESULTS: In cohort 2, a total of 74 previously untreated patients received zongertinib at a dose of 120 mg. As of August 21, 2025, the percentage of patients with a confirmed objective response was 76% (95% confidence interval [CI], 65 to 84); the median duration of response was 15.2 months (95% CI, 9.8 to not evaluable), and the median progression-free survival was 14.4 months (95% CI, 11.1 to not evaluable). Adverse events of any grade occurred in 73 patients (99%), including events of grade 3 or higher in 33 patients (45%). Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 67 patients (91%), including events of grade 3 or higher in 14 patients (19%). In cohort 4, a total of 30 patients with active brain metastases received zongertinib at a dose of 120 mg; of these, 47% (95% CI, 30 to 64) had a confirmed intracranial objective response according to Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology Brain Metastases criteria. In this cohort, treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or higher occurred in 5 patients (17%). CONCLUSIONS: -mutant NSCLC. Treatment-related adverse events were predominantly low-grade. (Funded by Boehringer Ingelheim; Beamion LUNG-1 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04886804.).
Authors
- Egbert F. Smit (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7329-6995)
- Joshua K. Sabari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1556-1543)
- Martin Wermke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4844-4087)
- Kristie Fernamberg
- Claus Thamer
- Sanjay Popat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2087-4963)
- Matthias Scheffler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1280-9873)
- G Ruiter
- Sabina Eigenbrod-Giese
- L. Schroeter
- Y W Zhao
- Behbood Sadrolhefazi
- Kiyotaka Yoh
- Ernest Nadal
- David Planchard
- Nicolas Girard
- Christina S. Baik
- Ross A. Soo
- Jon Zugazagoitia
- Noboru Yamamoto
- Hai-Yan Tu
- Myung-Ju Ahn
- John V. Heymach
- Yi-Long Wu
Institutions
- Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany) (DE)
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (US)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Leiden University Medical Center (NL)
- Institut Gustave Roussy (FR)
- Bellvitge University Hospital (ES)
- Samsung Medical Center (KR)
- The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NL)
- Zhengzhou University (CN)
- Research Institute Hospital 12 de Octubre (ES)
- NYU Langone Health (US)
- National Cancer Center (US)
- Fred Hutch Cancer Center (US)
- Institute of Cancer Research (CA)
- National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (SG)
- Institut Català d'Oncologia (ES)
- Oncode Institute (NL)
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (DE)
- Royal Marsden Hospital (GB)
- Henan Cancer Hospital (CN)
- Institut du Thorax (FR)
- National Cancer Center Hospital East (JP)
- Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences (CN)
- University Hospital Cologne (DE)
- Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (CN)
- Boehringer Ingelheim (United States) (US)
- Southern Medical University (CN)
- Technische Universität Dresden (DE)
- Institut Curie (FR)
- Sungkyunkwan University (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- New England Journal of Medicine
- Published
- 2026-04-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2516969
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 20.04
Funders
- Boehringer Ingelheim