is a washout required between Tarceva and Tagrisso therapy ? - 1273432

Hi kempten,

Unless you are entering a clinical trial which requires a specific washout period, that wouldn't be necessary except to the extent that you want to allow time for side effects of Tarceva to resolve. In less than a week almost all of the last Tarceva dose will have been fully metabolized, and that's usually enough for symptoms to fade. If there is any concern about a negative interaction between Tarceva and Tagrisso, a one week break would probably be sufficient to allay that concern.

If your concern is about the "Tarceva flare" you may have read about, the GRACE faculty have stated that this probably occurs less often than at first reported. As Dr. West has stated:

"I would say that the rebound progression or “flare” reaction is something that is possible but pretty uncommon, well under the 20-25% range reported in one paper from Memorial Sloan Kettering, and more like a 5% possibility." -http://cancergrace.org/topic/risks-to-stopping-tarceva-to-change-treatm…

Dr. Creelan agreed, stating: "I agree with Dr West – the so-called rebound progression or ‘flare’ after stopping Tarceva may actually be rather unusual...Bottom line: I don’t think the reported flare phenomenon warrants the degree of anxiety that is often observed in patient forums."

JimC
Forum moderator