A randomized, phase II, biomarker-selected study comparing erlotinib to erlotinib intercalated with chemotherapy in first-line therapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

  • Fred R. Hirsch
  • , Fairooz Kabbinavar
  • , Tim Eisen
  • , Renato Martins
  • , Fredrick M. Schnell
  • , Rafal Dziadziuszko
  • , Katherine Richardson
  • , Frank Richardson
  • , Bret Wacker
  • , David W. Sternberg
  • , Jason Rusk
  • , Wilbur A. Franklin
  • , Marileila Varella-Garcia
  • , Paul A. Bunn
  • , D. Ross Camidge

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

79 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: Erlotinib prolongs survival in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We report the results of a randomized, phase II study of erlotinib alone or intercalated with chemotherapy (CT + erlotinib) in chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced NSCLC who were positive for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein expression and/or with high EGFR gene copy number. Patients and Methods: A total of 143 patients were randomly assigned to either erlotinib 150 mg daily orally until disease progression (PD) occurred or to chemotherapy with paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 intravenously (IV) and carboplatin dosed by creatinine clearance (AUC 6) IV on day 1 intercalated with erlotinib 150 mg orally on days 2 through 15 every 3 weeks for four cycles followed by erlotinib 150 mg orally until PD occurred (CT + erlotinib). The primary end point was 6-month progression-free survival (PFS); secondary end points included response rate, PFS, and survival. EGFR, KRAS mutation, EGFR fluorescent in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, and E-cadherin and vimentin protein levels were also assessed. Results: Six-month PFS rates were 26% and 31% for the two arms (CT + erlotinib and erlotinib alone, respectively). Both were less than the historical control of 45% (P = .001 and P = .011, respectively). Median PFS times were 4.57 and 2.69 months, respectively. Patients with tumors harboring EGFR activating mutations fared better on erlotinib alone (median PFS, 18.2 months v 4.9 months for CT + erlotinib). Conclusion: The feasibility of a multicenter biomarker-driven study was demonstrated, but neither treatment arms exceeded historical controls. This study does not support combined chemotherapy and erlotinib in first-line treatment of EGFR-selected advanced NSCLC, and the patients with tumors harboring EGFR mutations had a better outcome on erlotinib alone.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3567-3573
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Clinical Oncology
Volume29
Issue number26
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 Sep 2011
Externally publishedYes

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