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Background

To improve the efficacy of first-line therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), additional maintenance chemotherapy may be given after initial induction chemotherapy in patients who did not progress during the initial treatment, rather than waiting for disease progression to administer second-line treatment. Maintenance therapy may consist of an agent that either was or was not present in the induction regimen. The antifolate pemetrexed is efficacious in combination with cisplatin for first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC and has shown efficacy as a maintenance agent in studies in which it was not included in the induction regimen. We designed a phase III study to determine if pemetrexed maintenance therapy improves progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) after cisplatin/pemetrexed induction therapy in patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC. Furthermore, since evidence suggests expression levels of thymidylate synthase, the primary target of pemetrexed, may be associated with responsiveness to pemetrexed, translational research will address whether thymidylate synthase expression correlates with efficacy outcomes of pemetrexed.

Methods/Design

Approximately 900 patients will receive four cycles of induction chemotherapy consisting of pemetrexed (500 mg/m2) and cisplatin (75 mg/m2) on day 1 of a 21-day cycle. Patients with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 who have not progressed during induction therapy will randomly receive (in a 2:1 ratio) one of two double-blind maintenance regimens: pemetrexed (500 mg/m2 on day 1 of a 21-day cycle) plus best supportive care (BSC) or placebo plus BSC. The primary objective is to compare PFS between treatment arms. Secondary objectives include a fully powered analysis of OS, objective tumor response rate, patient-reported outcomes, resource utilization, and toxicity. Tumor specimens for translational research will be obtained from consenting patients before induction treatment, with a second biopsy performed in eligible patients following the induction phase.

Discussion

Although using a drug as maintenance therapy that was not used in the induction regimen exposes patients to an agent with a different mechanism of action, evidence suggests that continued use of an agent present in the induction regimen as maintenance therapy enables the identification of patients most likely to benefit from maintenance treatment.

Trial Registration

Trial Registry: Clinicaltrials.gov

Registration number: NCT00789373

Trial abbreviation: H3E-EW-S124

Pemetrexed is a new cytotoxic agent that is a standard of care for the second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and in combination with cisplatin in treatment of malignat pleural mesothelioma. It has been studied in numerous phase II and III trials in combination with different drugs or as single agent. Recently, pemetrexed has been approved in combination with cisplatin for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC other than squamous cell histology. The toxicity is acceptable and similar to that of other NSCLC regimens. The postinduction maintenance therapy with pemetrexed is being evaluated in a phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

The study that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of pemetrexed injection for maintenance treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer whose disease has not progressed after four cycles of platinum-based doublet induction chemotherapy is reviewed.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the reader will be able to: Consider tumor histology when making treatment decisions for patients with NSCLC.Identify patients with NSCLC who may be appropriate candidates for maintenance therapy with pemetrexed.

This article is available for continuing medical education credit at CME.TheOncologist.com.

On July 2, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved pemetrexed injection (Alimta® Injection; Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN) for maintenance treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer whose disease has not progressed after four cycles of platinum-based doublet induction chemotherapy.

A double-blind study of pemetrexed plus best supportive care versus placebo plus best supportive care was conducted. Pemetrexed, 500 mg/m2 i.v., was administered every 21 days until disease progression. Folic acid, vitamin B12, and a corticosteroid were given to all study patients.

There were 663 randomized patients (pemetrexed, 441; placebo, 222). Treatments were well balanced with respect to baseline disease characteristics and stratification factors.

The median overall survival (OS) time for intent-to-treat (ITT) patients was 13.4 months for patients receiving pemetrexed and 10.6 months for those receiving placebo (hazard ratio [HR] 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65–0.95; p = .012). Median OS times were 15.5 months versus 10.3 months for patients with nonsquamous histologies receiving pemetrexed and placebo, respectively (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.56–0.88). The median OS time in patients with squamous histology receiving pemetrexed was 9.9 months, versus 10.8 months for those receiving placebo (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.77–1.50). A significantly longer progression-free survival interval for both the ITT and nonsquamous patient populations receiving pemetrexed maintenance therapy was also observed.

The most common (>5%) adverse reactions in patients receiving pemetrexed were hematologic toxicity, an increase in hepatic enzymes, fatigue, gastrointestinal toxicity, sensory neuropathy, and skin rash.

Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) are among the most common malignancies. Although pemetrexed is often used clinically to cure cancers, its efficacy in NSCLC patients with progressive brain metastases remains unclear. Here, we report a successful NSCLC (adenocarcinoma) case treated with pemetrexed. The detected tumors were treated with 900 mg of pemetrexed disodium (500 mg/m2) was administered to the patient on day 1, and 40 mg of cisplatin (25mg/m2) was administered on days 1–3, at the interval of 3 weeks. After two cycles of chemotherapy, the brain metastases were reduced. The lesion in the lung was reduced as determined by chest CT-scan. Our results suggest that pemetrexed is an effective therapy for patients with NSCLC and progressive brain metastases.

Nowadays, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still an incurable disease. However, recent researches on maintenance therapy have led to considerable progress. Recently, pemetrexed and erlotinib have been approved for maintenance chemotherapy by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency. However, there are not adequate data to support the maintenance therapy as the standard treatment for advanced NSCLC and there has been no conclusive predictor of who will get benefit from maintenance chemotherapy and what type of maintenance, continuation or switch, is preferred. This article reviews the main studies on maintenance therapy of advanced NSCLC and discusses the results available to date.

Background

Erlotinib and pemetrexed have been approved for the second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These two agents have different mechanisms of action. Combined treatment with erlotinib and pemetrexed could potentially augment the antitumor activity of either agent alone. In the present study, we investigated the safety profile of combined administration of the two agents in pretreated NSCLC patients.

Methods

A phase I dose-finding study (Trial registration: UMIN000002900) was performed in patients with stage III/IV nonsquamous NSCLC whose disease had progressed on or after receiving first-line chemotherapy. Patients received 500 mg/m2 of pemetrexed intravenously every 21 days and erlotinib (100 mg at Level 1 and 150 mg at Level 2) orally on days 2–16.

Results

Twelve patients, nine males and three females, were recruited. Patient characteristics included a median age of 66 years (range, 48–78 years), stage IV disease (nine cases), adenocarcinoma (seven cases) and activating mutation-positives in the epidermal growth factor receptor gene (two cases). Treatment was well-tolerated, and the recommended dose of erlotinib was fixed at 150 mg. Dose-limiting toxicities were experienced in three patients and included: grade 3 elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase, repetitive grade 4 neutropenia that required reduction of the second dose of pemetrexed and grade 3 diarrhea. No patient experienced drug-induced interstitial lung disease. Three patients achieved a partial response and stable disease was maintained in five patients.

Conclusions

Combination chemotherapy of intermittent erlotinib with pemetrexed was well-tolerated, with promising efficacy against pretreated advanced nonsquamous NSCLC.

Pemetrexed (Alimta®) is a multitargeted antifolate drug approved as a single agent or in combination with cisplatin for the treatment of a small number of malignancies including advanced and metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and malignant pleural mesothelioma. This review reports the recent peer-reviewed publications and original findings regarding cutaneous adverse reactions (CARs) to pemetrexed. Pemetrexed-related CARs are frequently reported under the unspecific term ‘skin rash’. However, more specific diseases were tentatively identified as alopecias, urticarial vasculitis, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, toxic epidermal necrolysis, radiation recall dermatitis and pityriasis lichenoides. Most of the skin reactions occur shortly after pemetrexed administration. As with methotrexate-related CARs, the cell cycle arrest in the S phase may be regarded as a direct and major cause of the cytotoxic pathobiology. An adverse immune reaction is unlikely. In conclusion, pemetrexed is responsible for CARs exhibiting a variety of clinical presentations. Their origin is likely attributed to direct cytotoxicity following the cell cycle arrest in the S phase and cell necrosis.

Purpose

To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of pemetrexed combined with bevacizumab as second-line therapy for patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to correlate allelic variants in pemetrexed-metabolizing genes with clinical outcome.

Patients and Methods

Patients with previously treated NSCLC received pemetrexed (500 mg/m2 intravenous) combined with bevacizumab (15 mg/kg intravenous) every 3 weeks. The primary end point, evaluated using a one-stage Fleming design for detecting a true success rate of at least 70%, was the proportion of patients who were progression free and on treatment at 3 months. Polymorphisms in genes responsible for pemetrexed transport (reduced folate carrier [SLC19A1]) and metabolism (folylpolyglutamate synthase [FPGS] and gamma-glutamyl hydrolase [GGH]) evaluated in germline DNA (blood) were correlated with treatment outcome.

Results

Forty-eight evaluable patients (14 females and 34 males) received a median of four cycles (range, one to 20 cycles). The most common grade 3 or 4 nonhematologic adverse events (AEs) were fatigue (13%), dyspnea (10%), and thrombosis (10%). Grade 3 or 4 hematologic AEs were neutropenia (19%) and lymphopenia (13%). Twenty-four (57%; 95% CI, 41% to 72%) of the first 42 patients met the success criteria. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) times were 8.6 and 4.0 months, respectively. The exon 6 (2522)C→T polymorphism in SLC19A1 correlated with 3-month progression-free status (P = .01) and with PFS (P = .05). The IVS1(1307)C→T polymorphism in GGH correlated with OS (P = .04).

Conclusion

The study did not meet its primary end point. However, the median PFS time of 4 months is promising. Pharmacogenetic studies in larger cohorts are needed to definitively identify polymorphisms that predict for survival and toxicity of pemetrexed.

Background

The objective of this study was to conduct a cost-effectiveness evaluation of pemetrexed compared to docetaxel in the treatment of advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for patients with predominantly non-squamous histology in the Spanish healthcare setting.

Methods

A Markov model was designed consisting of stable, responsive, progressive disease and death states. Patients could also experience adverse events as long as they received chemotherapy. Clinical inputs were based on an analysis of a phase III clinical trial that identified a statistically significant improvement in overall survival for non-squamous patients treated with pemetrexed compared with docetaxel. Costs were collected from the Spanish healthcare perspective.

Results

Outcomes of the model included total costs, total quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), total life years gained (LYG) and total progression-free survival (PFS). Mean survival was 1.03 years for the pemetrexed arm and 0.89 years in the docetaxel arm; QALYs were 0.52 compared to 0.42. Per-patient lifetime costs were € 34677 and € 32343, respectively. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were € 23967 per QALY gained and € 17225 per LYG.

Conclusions

Pemetrexed as a second-line treatment option for patients with a predominantly non-squamous histology in NSCLC is a cost-effective alternative to docetaxel according to the € 30000/QALY threshold commonly accepted in Spain.

Purpose

Platinum-based regimens represent the standard first-line treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer (nsclc). However, newer data have established a role for pemetrexed in the treatment of this disease. Such data suggest that histology represents a determining factor in the selection of treatment.

Methods

We undertook a systematic review of the literature for randomized controlled trials that compared the efficacy of pemetrexed with that of other treatments in advanced nsclc. Data and study quality were assessed according to published guidelines.

Results

We identified five trials that compared pemetrexed with other treatments or with placebo. Overall survival for patients treated with pemetrexed was superior to that with other treatments: hazard ratio (hr): 0.89; 95% confidence interval (ci): 0.80 to 0.99. The survival benefit was limited to patients with non-squamous histology: hr: 0.82; 95% ci: 0.73 to 0.91. Pemetrexed was inferior to other chemotherapy options in patients with squamous histology: hr: 1.19; 95% ci: 0.99 to 1.43.

Conclusions

Compared with other chemotherapy agents, pemetrexed is more effective for the treatment of nsclc in patients with non-squamous histology.

Background

Platinum-doublet, first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is limited to 4–6 cycles. An alternative strategy used to prolong the duration of first-line treatment and extend survival in metastatic NSCLC is first-line maintenance therapy. Erlotinib was approved for first-line maintenance in a stable disease population following results from a randomized, controlled Phase III trial comparing erlotinib with best supportive care. We aimed to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness of erlotinib 150 mg/day versus best supportive care when used as first-line maintenance therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC and stable disease.

Methods

An economic decision model was developed using patient-level data for progression-free survival and overall survival from the SATURN (SequentiAl Tarceva in UnResectable NSCLC) study. An area under the curve model was developed; all patients entered the model in the progression-free survival health state and, after each month, moved to progression or death. A time horizon of 5 years was used. The model was conducted from the perspective of national health care payers in France, Germany, and Italy. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed.

Results

Treatment with erlotinib in first-line maintenance resulted in a mean life expectancy of 1.39 years in all countries, compared with a mean 1.11 years with best supportive care, which represents 0.28 life-years (3.4 life-months) gained with erlotinib versus best supportive care. In the base-case analysis, the cost per life-year gained was €39,783, €46,931, and €27,885 in France, Germany, and Italy, respectively.

Conclusion

Erlotinib is a cost-effective treatment option when used as first-line maintenance therapy for locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC.

Metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (nsclc) is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Canada. Although treatment outcomes in advanced disease remain modest, with paradigm shifts in the approach to treatment, they are steadily improving. Customizing treatment based on histology and molecular typing has become the standard of care. EGFR genotyping and pathology subtyping should be considered routine in new diagnoses of metastatic nsclc. Treatment options for those with somatic EGFR activating mutations include gefitinib until progression, followed by standard chemotherapy. For patients with wild-type EGFR, or in patients whose EGFR genotype is unknown, platinum-based chemotherapy remains the first-line standard, with single-agent chemotherapy as an option for older patients and those who are unfit for platinum-doublet therapy. Patients with nonsquamous histology may receive treatment regimens incorporating pemetrexed or bevacizumab. In patients with squamous cell carcinoma, the latter agents should be avoided because of concerns about enhanced toxicity or decreased efficacy. Second-line chemotherapy is offered to a selected subgroup of patients upon progression and may include pemetrexed in non-squamous histology and docetaxel or erlotinib (or both) in all histologies. Currently, only erlotinib is offered as a third-line option in unselected nsclc patients after failure of first- and second-line chemotherapy. Maintenance therapy is emerging as a new option for patients, as are targeted therapies for particular molecular subtypes of nsclc, such as crizotinib in tumours harbouring the EML4–ALK gene rearrangement.

This review evaluates the available evidence and explores the role and importance of various modern chemotherapy regimens in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer, with the aim of optimizing treatment selection and combination with biological agents.

Despite recent progress in the development of new molecularly targeted agents, the chemotherapy regimens considered standard at the end of the last century—that is, two-drug combinations consisting of either cisplatin or carboplatin plus a third-generation agent (docetaxel, paclitaxel, gemcitabine, or vinorelbine)—remain the primary treatment option for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Most recently, the existing standard of care has been amended to reflect the significant survival advantage of cisplatin–pemetrexed over cisplatin–gemcitabine as first-line treatment of nonsquamous NSCLC. The addition of a biological drug (bevacizumab, cetuximab) or the use of a single-agent epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor may further improve outcomes in selected patients.

It has become increasingly clear, primarily through recent meta-analyses, that although the therapeutic equivalence of any combination of a platinum agent plus either gemcitabine, vinorelbine, docetaxel, or paclitaxel has been long accepted, each regimen has different side effects and therapeutic outcomes that allow clinicians to select the most appropriate treatment for chemotherapy-naïve patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC. In this review, we evaluate the available evidence and explore the role and importance of various modern chemotherapy regimens, with the aim of optimizing treatment selection and combination with biological agents. Emphasis is placed on the role of taxanes (docetaxel versus paclitaxel) in this changing landscape.

Although current recommendations for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) include a maximum of six cycles of platinum-based combination therapy as a first-line approach, most patients experience progression within 3–4 months. Therefore, a new treatment strategy, maintenance therapy, has been proposed, and several large randomized prospective controlled trials have shown benefits with maintenance therapy. Maintenance therapy can be classified as either continuation maintenance, which is defined as a prolongation of a part of the first-line chemotherapy or molecularly targeted agent until progression, or switch-maintenance, which is defined as the administration of a different cytotoxic chemotherapy or molecularly targeted agent immediately after induction therapy. In this article, recent results from large randomized phase III trials regarding maintenance therapy are reviewed in order to evaluate the role of maintenance therapy in NSCLC.

Background

Gefitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is an effective treatment in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with an activating mutation in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Randomised clinical trials showed a benefit in progression free survival for gefitinib versus doublet chemotherapy regimens in patients with an activated EGFR mutation (EGFR M+). From a patient perspective, progression free survival is important, but so is health-related quality of life. Therefore, this analysis evaluates the Quality Adjusted progression free survival of gefitinib versus three relevant doublet chemotherapies (gemcitabine/cisplatin (Gem/Cis); pemetrexed/cisplatin (Pem/Cis); paclitaxel/carboplatin (Pac/Carb)) in a Dutch health care setting in patients with EGFR M+ stage IIIB/IV NSCLC. This study uses progression free survival rather than overall survival for its time frame in order to better compare the treatments and to account for the influence that subsequent treatment lines would have on overall survival analysis.

Methods

Mean progression free survival for Pac/Carb was obtained by extrapolating the median progression free survival as reported in the Iressa-Pan-Asia Study (IPASS). Data from a network meta-analysis was used to estimate the mean progression free survival for therapies of interest relative to Pac/Carb. Adjustment for health-related quality of life was done by incorporating utilities for the Dutch population, obtained by converting FACT-L data (from IPASS) to utility values and multiplying these with the mean progression free survival for each treatment arm to determine the Quality Adjusted progression free survival. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine 95% credibility intervals.

Results

The Quality Adjusted progression free survival (PFS) (mean, (95% credibility interval)) was 5.2 months (4.5; 5.8) for Gem/Cis, 5.3 months (4.6; 6.1) for Pem/Cis; 4.9 months (4.4; 5.5) for Pac/Carb and 8.3 (7.0; 9.9) for gefitinib.

Conclusions

In the Dutch health care setting, the previously established progression free survival benefit of first-line gefitinib in advanced NSCLC EGFR M+ patients in comparison to standard doublet chemotherapy is further supported by the Quality Adjusted PFS, which takes into account the additional health-related quality of life benefits of gefitinib over doublet chemotherapy.

Background

Adjuvant chemotherapy has been proven to be beneficial for patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer. However, toxicity and insufficient dose delivery have been critical issues with the chemotherapy used. Doublet regimens with pemetrexed, a multi-target folate inhibitor, and platin show clear activity in non-small cell lung cancer and are well tolerated with low toxicity rates and excellent delivery.

Methods/Design

In this prospective, multi-center, open label randomized phase II study, patients with pathologically confirmed non-small cell lung cancer, stage IB, IIA, IIB, T3N1 will be randomized after complete tumor resection either to 4 cycles of the standard adjuvant vinorelbine and cisplatin regimen from the published phase III data, or to 4 cycles of pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 d1 and cisplatin 75 mg/m2 d1, q 3 weeks. Primary objective is to compare the clinical feasibility of these cisplatin doublets defined as non-occurrence of grade 4 neutropenia and/or thrombocytopenia > 7 days or bleeding, grade 3/4 febrile neutropenia and/or infection, grade 3/4 non-hematological toxicity, non-acceptance leading to premature withdrawal and no cancer or therapy related death. Secondary parameters are efficacy (time to relapse, overall survival) and drug delivery. Parameters of safety are hematologic and non-hematologic toxicity of both arms.

Discussion

The TREAT trial was designed to evaluate the clinical feasibility, i.e. rate of patients without dose limiting toxicities or premature treatment withdrawal or death of the combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed as well as the published phase III regimen of cisplatin and vinorelbine. Hypothesis of the study is that reduced toxicities might improve the feasibility of drug delivery, compliance and the convenience of treatment for the patient and perhaps survival.

Trial Registration

Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00349089

Background:

Although a high level of thymidylate synthase (TS) expression in malignant tumours has been suggested to be related to a reduced sensitivity to the antifolate drug pemetrexed, no direct evidence for such an association has been demonstrated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We have now investigated the effect of TS overexpression on pemetrexed sensitivity in NSCLC cells.

Methods:

We established NSCLC cell lines that stably overexpress TS and examined the effects of such overexpression on the cytotoxicity of pemetrexed both in vitro and in xenograft models. We further examined the relation between TS expression in tumour specimens from NSCLC patients and the tumour response to pemetrexed by immunohistochemical analysis.

Results:

The sensitivity of NSCLC cells overexpressing TS to the antiproliferative effect of pemetrexed was markedly reduced compared with that of control cells. The inhibition of DNA synthesis and induction of apoptosis by pemetrexed were also greatly attenuated by forced expression of TS. Furthermore, tumours formed by TS-overexpressing NSCLC cells in nude mice were resistant to the growth-inhibitory effect of pemetrexed observed with control tumours. Finally, the level of TS expression in tumours of non-responding patients was significantly higher than that in those of responders, suggestive of an inverse correlation between TS expression and tumour response to pemetrexed.

Conclusion:

A high level of TS expression confers a reduced sensitivity to pemetrexed. TS expression is thus a potential predictive marker for response to pemetrexed-based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients.

Based on the AVAPERL trial (36th ESMO 2011), CBDCA + pemetrexed + bevacizumab and its maintenance chemotherapy with pemetrexed + bevacizumab is a new promising regimen for the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung adenocarcinoma. Herein, we report the rare case of a patient with solitary breast metastasis from a lung adenocarcinoma, which was effectively treated using CBDCA + pemetrexed + bevacizumab and its maintenance chemotherapy. A 57-year-old female was admitted to the hospital due to pleural effusion and cardiac tamponade caused by a lung adenocarcinoma possessing a mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene (deletion of exon 19). The patient was treated by first-line chemotherapy (gefitinib 250 mg/body/day) which resulted in complete response. After 12 months, carcinoembryonic antigen was gradually increasing and she complained of a right breast mass. With a core-needle biopsy, the breast tumor was pathologically diagnosed as recurrence and solitary metastasis of a lung adenocarcinoma. Further study of the second mutation of EGFR revealed a T790M mutation. The patient was treated by second-line chemotherapy [CBDCA + pemetrexed + bevacizumab (AUC 6 + 500 mg/m2 + 15 mg/kg)] and its maintenance chemotherapy (pemetrexed + bevacizumab). The cases of patients with breast metastasis from other organs are very rare. Immunohistopathological analysis is very useful to diagnose whether the malignancy is primary or not. In the case of a breast tumor with present or previous malignancy, a metastatic breast tumor should be considered. Furthermore, the biopsy of the breast metastasis also revealed the second mutation of resistance to gefitinib, T790M. Of note, according to our case, CBDCA + pemetrexed + bevacizumab and its maintenance chemotherapy is feasible and well tolerated for breast metastasis from a lung adenocarcinoma which is resistant to gefitinib and possesses the T790M mutation in the EGFR gene.

Purpose

Cancer and Leukemia Group B conducted a randomized phase II trial to investigate two novel chemotherapy regimens in combination with concurrent thoracic radiation therapy (TRT).

Patients and Methods

Patients with unresectable stage III non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were randomly assigned to carboplatin (area under the curve, 5) and pemetrexed (500 mg/m2) every 21 days for four cycles and TRT (70 Gy; arm A) or the same treatment with cetuximab administered concurrent only with TRT (arm B). Patients in both arms received up to four cycles of pemetrexed as consolidation therapy. The primary end point was the 18-month overall survival (OS) rate; if the 18-month OS rate was ≥ 55%, the regimen(s) would be considered for further study.

Results

Of the 101 eligible patients enrolled (48 in arm A and 53 in arm B), 60% were male; the median age was 66 years (range, 32 to 81 years); 44% and 35% had adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma, respectively; and more patients enrolled onto arm A compared with arm B had a performance status of 0 (58% v 34%, respectively; P = .04). The 18-month OS rate was 58% (95% CI, 46% to 74%) in arm A and 54% (95% CI, 42% to 70%) in arm B. No significant difference in OS between patients with squamous and nonsquamous NSCLC was observed (P = .667). The toxicities observed were consistent with toxicities associated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Conclusion

The combination of pemetrexed, carboplatin, and TRT met the prespecified criteria for further evaluation. This regimen should be studied further in patients with locally advanced unresectable nonsquamous NSCLC.

Background/Aims

The efficacy and safety of pemetrexed, gefitinib, and erlotinib administration in previously treated patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were compared.

Methods

The study patients met the following criteria: histologically confirmed, previously treated advanced (stage IIIB or IV) or recurrent NSCLC; a measurable lesion; ≥ 18 years of age; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance status 0 to 2; and no prior exposure to the three study drugs. Patients received 500 mg/m2 of pemetrexed intravenously every 3 weeks with vitamin supplementation, gefitinib (250 mg/day per os), or erlotinib (150 mg/day per os).

Results

Of 57 patients (pemetrexed, 20; gefitinib, 20; and erlotinib, 17), 55 were evaluated for a response. The numbers of males, smokers, and squamous histology were increased in the pemetrexed group compared to the other groups. The objective response rates were 5.3%, 25.0%, and 12.5% (p = 0.22), and the disease control rates (DCR) were 5.3%, 40.0%, and 50.0%, respectively (p < 0.01). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 1.7, 3.5, and 4.4 months (p < 0.01) and the median overall survival (OS) was 5.6, 21.8, and 21.5 months (p = 0.04), respectively. In subgroup analyses, patients with non-squamous histology, males, and a smoking history had a higher DCR and longer PFS with gefitinib and erlotinib than with pemetrexed. All three chemotherapeutic agents had manageable toxicities.

Conclusions

Both oral epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR TKIs) had comparable efficacy and safety. The superior PFS and OS of EGFR TKIs with more favorable baseline clinical characteristics than those of pemetrexed suggest the impact of baseline clinicopathological factors.

The first-line treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) generally consists of a maximum of six cycles of platinum-based doublet chemotherapy followed by surveillance for disease progression. Recently, the strategy of starting second-line treatment immediately following the completion of chemotherapy, known as ‘maintenance’ chemotherapy, has been investigated. The use of maintenance pemetrexed improves both progression-free and overall survival, while the use of maintenance docetaxel did not significantly improve overall survival. The Sequential Tarceva in Unresectable NSCLC (SATURN) study investigated the use of maintenance erlotinib following the completion of first-line chemotherapy. It demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival from 11.1 months in the placebo group to 12.3 months in patients receiving maintenance erlotinib, with the important caveat that only 21% of patients in the placebo group ever received erlotinib. A subset of patients whose tumors had EGF receptor mutations had a higher magnitude of benefit from maintenance treatment. Therefore, maintenance erlotinib should be considered in the treatment of patients with NSCLC.

Background

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of hydration with magnesium and mannitol without furosemide on the nephrotoxocity accompanying combination chemotherapy using cisplatin and pemetrexed in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Fifty patients with NSCLC who received cisplatin plus pemetrexed, using either old hydration protocol including normal saline with mannitol and furosemide, or a new one including normal saline with magnesium and mannitol without furosemide were retrospectively analyzed. Nephrotoxicity was compared between patients treated using the old protocol and those treated with the new protocol. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the independent factors associated with protection against nephrotoxicity in patients with NSCLC who received cisplatin plus pemetrexed.

Results

Thirty patients received the old hydration protocol, while 20 patients were treated using the new hydration protocol. The patients treated using the new hydration protocol showed a significantly greater increase in creatinine clearance (P=0.0004) and a decrease in the serum creatinine level (P=0.0148) after one course of chemotherapy compared with those treated using the old hydration protocol. There were no differences in the chemotherapeutic response or overall survival between the groups (P=0.572). The new hydration protocol with supplemented magnesium with mannitol without furosemide was an independent factor for the protection against nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin and pemetrexed in patients with advanced NSCLC [HR 0.232 (95% CI: 0.055-0.986), P=0.039].

Conclusions

These results demonstrate that the new hydration protocol comprising supplementation with magnesium without furosemide could prevent the nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin and pemetrexed without affecting the treatment outcome.

Background

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pemetrexed plus cisplatin/carboplatin in locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.

Methods

Fifty-three locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer patients previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy received pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 plus cisplatin 75 mg/m2 or carboplatin area under the curve (AUC) 5 every 21 days, with dexamethasone, folic acid and vitamin B12 being administered.

Results

Median age was 52 years. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status was 0-2. Thirty-eight patients had stage IV tumors. Thirty-seven patients had adenocarcinoma (including 6 alveolar carcinoma patients), and fourteen patients had squamous cell carcinoma. Thirty-four patients were treated in second line, 15 in third line, and 4 in fourth line. Seven patients (13.2%) showed partial response; Thirty-six (67.9%) had stable disease. The median progression free survival time was 6.0 months and the median overall survival time was 10.0 months. The 1-year survival rate was 40.9%. Five (9.4%) and four (7.5%) patients experienced grade 3 or 4 leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, respectively. Nonhematological toxicities included grade 3 nausea/vomiting in 1 patient (1.9%), grade 3 rash in 1 patient, grade 4 diarrhea in 1 patient (1.9%) and grade 4 creatinine increase in 1 patient (1.9%).

Conclusion

Locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC patients previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy could benefit from pemetrexed plus cisplatin/carboplatin chemotherapy with tolerable adverse events.

Background

This phase I study investigates the feasibility of carboplatin plus dose-dense (q2-week) pemetrexed given concurrently with radiotherapy (XRT) for locally advanced and oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Eligible patients had Stage III or IV (oligometastatic) NSCLC. Patients received XRT to 63 Gy in standard fractionation. Patients received concurrent carboplatin (AUC = 6) during weeks 1 and 5 of XRT, and pemetrexed during weeks 1, 3, 5, and 7 of XRT. The starting dose level (level 1) of pemetrexed was 300 mg/m2. Following the finding of dose limiting toxicity (DLT) in dose level 1, an amended dose level (level 1A) continued pemetrexed at 300 mg/m2, but with involved field radiation instead of extended nodal irradiation. Consolidation consisted of carboplatin (AUC = 6) and pemetrexed (500 mg/m2) q3 weeks × 2 -3 cycles.

Results

Eighteen patients were enrolled. Fourteen patients are evaluable for toxicity analysis. Of the initial 6 patients treated on dose level 1, two experienced DLTs (one grade 4 sepsis, one prolonged grade 3 esophagitis). There was one DLT (grade 5 pneumonitis) in the 8 patients treated on dose level 1A. In 16 patients evaluable for response (4 with oligometastatic stage IV disease and 12 with stage III disease), the median follow-up time is 17.8 months. Thirteen of 16 patients had in field local regional response. The actuarial median survival time was 28.6 months in all patients and 34.7 months (estimated) in stage III patients.

Conclusions

Concurrent carboplatin with dose-dense (q2week) pemetrexed at 300 mg/m2 with involved field XRT is feasible and encouraging in patients with locally advanced and oligometastatic NSCLC.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00330044

About 20% to 40% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) will develop brain metastases during the natural course of their disease. The prognosis for such patients is very poor with limited survival. In addition to the standard whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT), some studies have shown that chemotherapy drugs and/or epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) can improve the outcome of these patients. Here, we report a stage IIIA patient who developed multiple brain metastases one year after operation. Oral gefitinib with concurrent WBRT were given as first-line therapy. Complete response and a 50-month progression-free survival (PFS) were obtained. Double dosage of gefitinib (500 mg per day) together with pemetrexed were given as the second-line therapy after the patient developed new brain lesions and leptomeningeal metastasis during the maintenance therapy of gefitinib. The PFS for the second-line therapy was six months. In total, the patient obtained an overall survival of 59 months since the first diagnosis of brain metastases. Mutational analysis showed a 15-nucleotide deletion and a missense mutation in exon 19 of the EGFR gene, and a missense mutation at codon 12 of the K-ras gene. These underlying genetic changes might partially explain the long-term survival of this patient after brain metastases when treated with concurrent or sequential therapies of EGFR-TKI, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.