Vinorelbine/carboplatin vs gemcitabine/carboplatin in advanced NSCLC shows similar efficacy, but different impact of toxicity

This randomised phase III study in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients was conducted to compare vinorelbine/carboplatin (VC) and gemcitabine/carboplatin (GC) regarding efficacy, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and toxicity. Chemonaive patients with NSCLC stage IIIB/IV and WHO performance status 0–2 were eligible. No upper age limit was defined. Patients received vinorelbine 25 mg m−2 or gemcitabine 1000 mg m−2 on days 1 and 8 and carboplatin AUC4 on day 1 and three courses with 3-week cycles. HRQOL questionnaires were completed at baseline, before chemotherapy and every 8 weeks until 49 weeks. During 14 months, 432 patients were included (VC, n=218; GC, n=214). Median survival was 7.3 vs 6.4 months, 1-year survival 28 vs 30% and 2-year survival 7 vs 7% in the VC and GC arm, respectively (P=0.89). HRQOL, represented by global QOL, nausea/vomiting, dyspnoea and pain, showed no significant differences. More grade 3–4 anaemia (P<0.01), thrombocytopenia (P<0.01) and transfusions of blood (P<0.01) or platelets (P<0.01) were observed in the GC arm. There was more grade 3–4 leucopoenia (P<0.01) in the VC arm, but the rate of neutropenic infections was the same (P=0.87). In conclusion, overall survival and HRQOL are similar, while grade 3–4 toxicity requiring interventions are less frequent when VC is compared to GC in advanced NSCLC

Randomized, Phase II Trial of Pemetrexed and Carboplatin with or without Enzastaurin versus Docetaxel and Carboplatin as First-Line Treatment of Patients with Stage IIIB/IV Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Enzastaurin is an oral serine/threonine kinase inhibitor that targets protein kinase C-beta (PKC-β) and the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/AKT pathway. This trial assessed pemetrexed-carboplatin ± enzastaurin to docetaxel-carboplatin in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.Patients with stage IIIB (with pleural effusion) or IV non-small cell lung cancer and performance status 0 or 1 were randomized to one of the three arms: (A) pemetrexed 500 mg/m and carboplatin area under the curve 6 once every 3 weeks for up to 6 cycles with a loading dose of enzastaurin 1125 or 1200 mg followed by 500 mg daily until disease progression, (B) the same regimen of pemetrexed-carboplatin without enzastaurin, or (C) docetaxel 75 mg/m and carboplatin area under the curve 6 once every 3 weeks for up to six cycles. The primary end point was time to disease progression (TTP).Between March 2006 and May 2008, 218 patients were randomized. Median TTP was 4.6 months for pemetrexed-carboplatin-enzastaurin, 6.0 months for pemetrexed-carboplatin, and 4.1 months for docetaxel-carboplatin (differences not significant). Median survival was 7.2 months for pemetrexed-carboplatin-enzastaurin, 12.7 months for pemetrexed-carboplatin, and 9.2 months for docetaxel-carboplatin (log-rank = 0.05). Compared with the other arms, docetaxel-carboplatin was associated with lower rates of grade 3 thrombocytopenia and anemia but a higher rate of grade 3 or 4 febrile neutropenia.There was no difference in TTP between the three arms, but survival was longer with pemetrexed-carboplatin compared with docetaxel-carboplatin. Enzastaurin did not add to the activity of pemetrexed-carboplatin

65Plus: open-label study of bevacizumab in combination with pemetrexed or pemetrexed/carboplatin as first-line treatment of patients with advanced or recurrent nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer

Wolfgang Schuette,1 Claus-Peter Schneider,2,3 Walburga Engel-Riedel,4 Christian Schumann,5,6 Martin Kohlhaeufl,7 Monika Heidi Ursel Serke,8 Gert Hoeffken,9 Cornelius Kortsik,10 Martin Reck11 1Department of Internal Medicine&nbsp;II, Hospital Martha-Maria Halle-Doelau, Halle, 2Department of Pneumonology, Central Hospital, Bad Berka, 3Department of Internal Medicine, DRK Manniske Hospital, Bad Frankenhausen, 4Cologne Clinics, Merheim Lung Hospital, Cologne, 5Pneumonology, Department of Internal Medicine&nbsp;II, University Hospital Ulm, 6Clinic for Pneumology, Thoracic Oncology, Sleep, and Respiratory Critical Care, Kempten-Oberallg&auml;u, 7Center of Pneumonology and Chest Surgery, Hospital Schillerhoehe, Gerlingen, 8Pneumonology, Lung Clinics, Hemer, 9Center of Pneumonology, Chest and Vascular Surgery, Specialty Hospital Coswig, Coswig, 10Department of Pneumonology, Catholic Hospital, Mainz, 11Department of Thoracic Oncology, Lung Clinic, Grosshansdorf, Germany Background: The aim of the study was to investigate in terms of noninferiority the efficacy and safety of a monochemotherapy regimen of pemetrexed plus bevacizumab (BevPem) versus carboplatin/pemetrexed plus bevacizumab (BevCPem) in elderly patients as first-line treatment for advanced metastatic or recurrent nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Materials and methods: 65Plus was a Phase III, randomized, open-label study. In total, 253 patients received BevPem (n=119) or BevCPem (n=134). The primary outcome measure was progression-free survival. Secondary end points were overall survival, tumor response, and safety outcomes. Evaluations were performed for the whole study population and stratified according to Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS).Results: Noninferiority of BevPem in comparison to BevCPem could not be demonstrated for the overall population (P=0.7864). Significant superiority of the combined treatment BevCPem was seen in patients of ECOG PS 0&ndash;1 (median PFS 5.1 vs 6.9 months, HR 1.353, 95% CI 1.03&ndash;1.777), while the opposite tendency was observed in patients with ECOG PS 2 (median PFS 2.9 vs 1.5 months, HR 0.628, 95% CI 0.195&ndash;2.025). Overall, better tolerability was found for the BevPem group, irrespective of ECOG PS.Conclusion: Results from the 65plus study give evidence that BevPem and BevCPem treatments may exert differential effects on PFS, depending on the patients ECOG PS. It appears that patients with better ECOG PS (0&ndash;1) benefited more from the combined treatment with carboplatin, while the group comprising more severely impaired patients (ECOG PS 2) benefited more from the monochemotherapy. Keywords: bevacizumab, pemetrexed, carboplatin, NSCLC, elderly patient