The impact of induction chemotherapy on the outcome of second-line therapy with pemetrexed or docetaxel in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Background: Using data from a large phase III study of previously treated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that showed similar efficacy for pemetrexed and docetaxel, this retrospective analysis evaluates the impact of first-line chemotherapy on the outcome of second-line chemotherapy. Patients and methods: In all, 571 patients with advanced NSCLC were randomly assigned to receive pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 or docetaxel 75 mg/m2 on day 1 of a 21-day cycle. Comparisons were made based on type of first-line therapy [gemcitabine + platinum (GP), taxane + platinum (TP), or other therapies (OT)], response to initial therapy, time since initial therapy, and clinical characteristics. The two second-line treatment groups were pooled for this analysis due to similar efficacy and were assumed to have no interaction with the first-line therapies. Results: Baseline characteristics were generally balanced. By multivariate analysis, gender, stage at diagnosis, performance status (PS), and best response to first-line therapy significantly influenced overall survival (OS). Additional factors by univariate analysis, histology, and time elapsed from first- to second-line therapy significantly influenced OS. Conclusions: Future trials in the second-line setting should stratify patients by gender, stage at diagnosis, PS, and best response to first-line therap

A randomised phase II trial of docetaxel vs docetaxel and irinotecan in patients with stage IIIb–IV non-small-cell lung cancer who failed first-line treatment

Response rate and toxicity of second-line therapy with docetaxel (75 mg m−2) or docetaxel, irinotecan, and lenogastrim (60 mg m−2, 200 mg m−2, and 150 μg m−2 day−1, respectively) were compared in 108 patients with stage IIIb–IV non-small-cell lung cancer. Addition of irinotecan to docetaxel does not improve response rate, and increases gastrointestinal toxicity

Mitomycin C and Vinorelbine for second-line chemotherapy in NSCLC – a phase II trial

Single-agent therapy with Docetaxel or Pemetrexed is the current therapy of choice for second-line treatment in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The role of older agents was underattended over the last years. This study presents the combination of Mitomycin C and Vinorelbine in pretreated patients. Forty-two patients (stage IIIB and IV, pretreated with platinum-based chemotherapy) received 8 mg m−2 Mitomycin C on day 1 and 25 mg m−2 Vinorelbine on days 1 and 8 of a 28-day cycle. End points were objective tumour response, survival, and toxicity. Additionally, quality of life (QoL) was assessed. Five patients (11.9 %) achieved partial responses and 13 patients (31.9%) stable disease. Progression-free survival was 16 weeks. The median overall survival was 8.5 month. Eleven patients (26.2 %) suffered from grade 3 or 4 neutropenia and four patients (9.52%) from grade 3 or 4 anaemia. Evaluation of QoL showed that some items ameliorated during therapy. The therapeutic concept including Mitomycin C and Vinorelbine offers an efficacious and well-tolerated regimen, with relatively low toxicity. Objective response and survival data correlate with other second-line studies using different medication. As costs of Mitomycin C and Vinorelbine are lower compared with current drugs of choice, this regimen is likely to be cost-saving

Treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer: a perspective on the recent advances and the experience with gefitinib

Worldwide, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality and, until screening detects early disease, treatment for the majority of patients will consist of radiation therapy, chemotherapy or combinations thereof. Modern mono and doublet chemotherapy regimens have translated into modest increases in life expectancy and improved quality of life, but at the expense of systemic and pulmonary adverse events (AEs). There is a great unmet need to provide effective therapy for advanced NSCLC that does not have the toxicity burden of conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Novel drugs that inhibit a range of growth factor receptors, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors gefitinib (‘Iressa’) and erlotinib (‘Tarceva’) or the monoclonal antibody cetuximab (‘Erbitux’), have recently been evaluated. Having demonstrated antitumour activity and rapid symptom improvement in pretreated patients with advanced NSCLC, gefitinib was approved in the USA, Japan and other countries. Gefitinib is well tolerated with a low incidence of grade 3/4 AEs. Interstitial lung disease has been reported in a small number of patients receiving gefitinib, although this may be attributed to other treatments and conditions. Nevertheless, although the use of novel treatments requires vigilance for unexpected AEs such as pulmonary toxicity, in this area of high unmet clinical need, the benefits outweigh the risks in patients for whom no other proven effective treatment exists

Phase I study of IMGN901, a CD56-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, in patients with CD56-positive solid tumors.

Background IMGN901 is a CD56-targeting antibody-drug conjugate designed for tumor-selective delivery of the cytotoxic maytansinoid DM1. This phase 1 study investigated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary activity of IMGN901 in patients with CD56-expressing solid tumors. Methods Patients were enrolled in cohorts of escalating IMGN901 doses, administered intravenously, on 3 consecutive days every 21 days. A dose-expansion phase accrued patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), or ovarian cancer. Results Fifty-two patients were treated at doses escalating from 4 to 94 mg/m(2)/day. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was determined to be 75 mg/m(2). Dose-limiting toxicities included fatigue, neuropathy, headache or meningitis-like symptoms, chest pain, dyspnea, and myalgias. In the dose-expansion phase (n = 45), seven patients received 75 mg/m(2) and 38 received 60 mg/m(2) for up to 21 cycles. The recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) was established at 60 mg/m(2) during dose expansion. Overall, treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were experienced by 96.9 % of all patients, the majority of which were Grade 1 or 2. The most commonly reported Grade 3 or 4 TEAEs were hyponatremia and dyspnea (each 8.2 %). Responses included 1 complete response (CR), 1 clinical CR, and 1 unconfirmed partial response (PR) in MCC; and 1 unconfirmed PR in SCLC. Stable disease was seen for 25 % of all evaluable patients who received doses ≥60 mg/m(2). Conclusions The RP2D for IMGN901 of 60 mg/m(2) administered for 3 consecutive days every 3 weeks was associated with an acceptable tolerability profile. Objective responses were observed in patients with advanced CD56+ cancers

First line chemotherapy with planned sequential administration of gemcitabine followed by docetaxel in elderly advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients: a multicenter phase II study

This multicenter phase II study evaluated, in chemonaive patients with stage IIIB–IV NSCLC, age ⩾70 and with a performance status 0–2, the activity, efficacy and tolerability of planned sequential administration of gemcitabine 1200 mg m−2 on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks for three courses followed by three cycles of docetaxel 37.5 mg m−2 on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks, provided there was no evidence of disease progression. A total of 56 patients entered the study. According to intention-to-treat analysis, the objective response rate was 16.0% (95% CI 7.6–28.3%); 23 patients (41.0%) had stable disease and 24 patients (43%) had progressive disease. Five patients who had a stable disease after three courses of gemcitabine obtained a conversion to partial response by docetaxel. Median time to progression was 4.8 months (95% CI 3.6–6.0 months) and median duration of survival was 8.0 months (95% CI 5.6–10.5 months). The 1-year survival rate was 34%. No grade 4 haematological toxicity was observed and grade 3 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were reported in 5.4 and 3.6% of the patients, respectively. Grade 3/4 mucositis and grade 3 diarrhoea, both occurred in 3.6% of the patients and grade 3 asthenia was observed in 9% of patients. One patient reported a grade 4 skin toxicity. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Sequential gemcitabine and docetaxel is a well-tolerated and effective regimen in elderly advanced NSCLC patients

Analysis of epidermal growth factor receptor expression as a predictive factor for response to gefitinib (‘Iressa’, ZD1839) in non-small-cell lung cancer

Gefitinib ('Iressa', ZD1839) is an orally active epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has demonstrated antitumour activity and favourable tolerability in Phase II studies. We investigated whether EGFR expression levels could predict for response to gefitinib in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who received gefitinib (250 mg day(-1)) as part of a worldwide compassionate-use programme. Tissue samples were analysed by immunohistochemistry to assess membrane EGFR immunoreactivity. Of 147 patients enrolled in our institution, 50 patients were evaluable for assessment of both clinical response and EGFR expression. The objective tumour response rate was 10% and disease control was achieved in 50% of patients. Although high EGFR expression was more common in squamous-cell carcinomas than adenocarcinomas, all objective responses were observed in patients with adenocarcinoma. Response and disease control with gefitinib were not associated with high EGFR expression. Overall, median survival was 4 months, and the 1-year survival rate was 18%. Strong EGFR staining correlated with shorter survival time for all patients. Gefitinib demonstrated promising clinical activity in this group of patients with NSCLC. These results have also shown that EGFR expression is not a significant predictive factor for response to gefitinib

Single-agent gemcitabine in pretreated patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: results of an Argentinean multicentre phase II trial

The activity and mild toxicity profile of single-agent gemcitabine therapy in untreated (chemonaive) patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is well documented. This phase II trial was conducted to determine the objective tumour response rate and toxicity profile of single-agent gemcitabine in pretreated patients with NSCLC. Patients with histological evidence of advanced NCSLC stage IIIB or IV; at least one prior chemotherapy regimen including a platinum or taxane analogue; an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0–2; clinically measurable disease; adequate bone marrow reserve; and adequate renal function; received 1000 mg m–2 gemcitabine administered over 30 min on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle defined as 3 weekly treatments followed by 1 week of rest. Twenty-nine patients were evaluated for efficacy and 32 for toxicity. One patient achieved a complete response and five patients had a partial response resulting in a total response rate of 20.6% (95% confidence interval (CI) 6–34). Median response duration was 7 months (range 4–11 months). Twelve (41%) patients reached stable disease after two cycles of therapy and 11 (38%) patients had disease progression. Median progression-free survival time was 3 months and median overall survival time was 5.5 months. Toxicity was generally mild (grades 0–2). Severe (grade 3 or 4) haematological toxicities included grade 3 anaemia in one patient and grade 3 thrombocytopenia in two patients. Severe non-haematological toxicities included one patient each with grade 3 liver transaminase elevations, nausea/vomiting and diarrhoea. This study confirms the activity and safety of single-agent gemcitabine in pretreated patients with advanced NSCLC who are refractory or sensitive to first-line therapy. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

A randomised phase II trial of preoperative chemotherapy of cisplatin–docetaxel or docetaxel alone for clinical stage IB/II non-small-cell lung cancer: results of a Japan Clinical Oncology Group trial (JCOG 0204)

Preoperative chemotherapy is a promising strategy in patients with early-stage resectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); optimal chemotherapy remains unclear. Clinical (c-) stage IB/II NSCLC patients were randomised to receive either two cycles of docetaxel (D)–cisplatin (P) combination chemotherapy (D 60 mg m−2 and P 80 mg m−2 on day 1) every 3–4 weeks or three cycles of D monotherapy (70 mg m−2) every 3weeks. Thoracotomy was performed 4–5 weeks (DP) or 3–4 weeks (D) after chemotherapy. The primary end point was 1-year disease-free survival (DFS). From October 2002 to November 2003, 80 patients were randomised. Chemotherapy toxicities were mainly haematologic and well tolerated. There were two early postoperative deaths with DP (one intraoperative bleeding and one empyema). Pathologic complete response was observed in two DP patients. Docetaxel–cisplatin was superior to D in terms of response rate (45 vs 15%) and complete resection rate (95 vs 87%). Both DFS and overall survival were better in DP. Disease-free survival at 1, 2 and 4 years were 78, 65 and 57% with DP, and were 62, 44 and 36% with D, respectively. Preoperative DP was associated with encouraging resection rate and DFS data, and phase III trials for c-stage IB/II NSCLC are warranted