Randomized study of maintenance vinorelbine in responders with advancednon-small-cell lung cancer.Westeel V, Quoix E, Moro-Sibilot D, Mercier M, Breton JL, Debieuvre D, Richard P, Haller MA, Milleron B, Herman D, Level MC, Lebas FX, Puyraveau M, Depierre A; French Thoracic Oncology Collaborative Group (GCOT).SourceChest Disease Department, Jean Minjoz University Hospital, Besançon, France.AbstractBACKGROUND:Prolongation of chemotherapy duration, usually referred to as maintenance chemotherapy, has been considered as an approach to improve survival of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). If the maintenance regimen differs from the induction regimen, patients will receive not only higher total doses of chemotherapy but also earlier delivery of non-cross-resistant agents. We conducted a randomized trial to compare maintenance vinorelbine therapy with observation in previously untreated patients who responded to induction treatment with mitomycin-ifosfamide-cisplatin (MIC).METHODS:Patients with stage IIIB NSCLC were treated with two monthly MIC cycles followed by radiotherapy; those with "wet" stage IIIB (pleural or pericardial involvement), with stage IIIB with supraclavicular node involvement, or stage IV (i.e., metastatic) NSCLC were treated with four monthly MIC cycles. Patients who responded to induction treatment were randomly assigned to receive intravenous vinorelbine at a dose of 25 mg x m(-2) x wk(-1) for 6 months or no further treatment. Survival comparisons used the log-rank test and the Cox regression adjusted for stage. All statistical tests were two-sided.RESULTS:A total of 573 patients were registered, of whom 227 responded to induction treatment and 181 were randomly assigned (91 to maintenance vinorelbine and 90 to observation) between January 1994 and March 2000. One- and 2-year survival rates were 42.2% and 20.1% in the vinorelbine arm and 50.6% and 20.2% in the observation arm, respectively (log-rank P = .48). The hazard ratio of survival after adjustment on stage, in the vinorelbine arm relative to the observation arm, was 1.08 (95% confidence interval = 0.79 to 1.47; P = .65). There was also no difference between arms in progression-free survival (log-rank P = .32).CONCLUSION:Maintenance vinorelbine did not improve survival of patients with advanced NSCLC who responded to induction MIC treatment. Nevertheless, other agents, including docetaxel and targeted agents, should be evaluated as maintenance agents before the concept is abandoned.Phase III study of immediate compared with delayed docetaxel after front-line therapy with gemcitabine plus carboplatin in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.Fidias PM, Dakhil SR, Lyss AP, Loesch DM, Waterhouse DM, Bromund JL, Chen R, Hristova-Kazmierski M, Treat J, Obasaju CK, Marciniak M, Gill J, Schiller JH.SourceMassachusetts General Hospital, Center for Thoracic Cancers, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114, USA. pfidias2@AbstractPURPOSE:Gemcitabine plus carboplatin (GC) is active as front-line treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). For patients without progression, timing of second-line chemotherapy for optimum clinical benefit remains uncertain. This phase III, randomized trial assessed the efficacy and safety of docetaxel administered either immediately after GC or at disease progression.PATIENTS AND METHODS:The chemotherapy-naïve patients enrolled had either stage IIIB NSCLC with pleural effusion or stage IV NSCLC. Gemcitabine (1,000 mg/m(2)) was administered on days 1 and 8 followed by carboplatin (area under the curve = 5) on day 1. After four 21-day cycles, patients who did not have progression were randomly assigned either to an immediate docetaxel group (docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) on day 1 every 21 days, with maximum of six cycles) or to a delayed docetaxel group. The primary end point was overall survival (OS) measured from random assignment. Additional analyses included tumor response, toxicity, progression-free survival (PFS), and quality of life (QOL).RESULTS:Enrollment totaled 566 patients; 398 patients completed GC; 309 patients were randomly assigned equally to the two docetaxel treatment groups. Toxicity profiles were generally comparable for the docetaxel groups. Median PFS for immediate docetaxel (5.7 months) was significantly greater (P = .0001) than for delayed docetaxel (2.7 months). Median OS for immediate docetaxel (12.3 months) was greater than for delayed docetaxel (9.7 months), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = .0853). QOL results were not statistically different (P = .76) between docetaxel groups.CONCLUSION:We observed a statistically significant improvement in PFS and a nonstatistically significant increase in OS when docetaxel was administered immediately after front-line GC, without increasing toxicity or decreasing QOL.Paclitaxel-carboplatin alone or with bevacizumab for non-small-cell lung cancer.Sandler A, Gray R, Perry MC, Brahmer J, Schiller JH, Dowlati A, Lilenbaum R, Johnson DH.SourceVanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. sandler@Erratum inN Engl J Med. 2007 Jan 18;356(3):318.AbstractBACKGROUND:Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor, has been shown to benefit patients with a variety of cancers.METHODS:Between July 2001 and April 2004, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) conducted a randomized study in which 878 patients with recurrent or advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (stage IIIB or IV) were assigned to chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin alone (444) or paclitaxel and carboplatin plus bevacizumab (434). Chemotherapy was administered every 3 weeks for six cycles, and bevacizumab was administered every 3 weeks until disease progression was evident or toxic effects were intolerable. Patients with squamous-cell tumors, brain metastases, clinically significant hemoptysis, or inadequate organ function or performance status (ECOG performance status, >1) were excluded. The primary end point was overall survival.RESULTS:The median survival was 12.3 months in the group assigned to chemotherapy plus bevacizumab, as compared with 10.3 months in the chemotherapy-alone group (hazard ratio for death, 0.79; P=0.003). The medianprogression-free survival in the two groups was 6.2 and 4.5 months, respectively (hazard ratio for disease progression, 0.66; P<0.001), with corresponding response rates of 35% and 15% (P<0.001). Rates of clinically significant bleeding were 4.4% and 0.7%, respectively (P<0.001). There were 15 treatment-related deaths in the chemotherapy-plus-bevacizumab group, including 5 from pulmonary hemorrhage.CONCLUSIONS:The addition of bevacizumab to paclitaxel plus carboplatin in the treatment of selected patients with non-small-cell lung cancer has a significant survival benefit with the risk of increased treatment-related deaths. ( number, NCT00021060.)2006 Massachusetts Medical SocietyTRIBUTE: a phase III trial of erlotinib hydrochloride (OSI-774) combined with carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.Herbst RS, Prager D, Hermann R, Fehrenbacher L, Johnson BE, Sandler A, Kris MG, Tran HT, Klein P, Li X, Ramies D, Johnson DH, Miller VA; TRIBUTE Investigator Group.SourceUniversity of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA. AbstractPURPOSE:Erlotinib is a potent reversible HER1/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor with single-agent activity in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Erlotinib was combined with chemotherapy to determine if it could improve the outcome of patients with NSCLC.PATIENTS AND METHODS:TRIBUTE randomly assigned patients with good performance status and previously untreated advanced (stage IIIB/IV) NSCLC to erlotinib 150 mg/d or placebo combined with up to six cycles of carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by maintenance monotherapy with erlotinib. Random assignment was stratified by stage, weight loss in the previous 6 months, measurable disease, and treatment center. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included time to progression (TTP), objective response (OR), and duration of response.RESULTS:There were 1,059 assessable patients (526 erlotinib; 533 placebo). Median survival for patients treated with erlotinib was 10.6 v 10.5 months for placebo (hazard ratio, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.16; P = .95). There was no difference in OR or median TTP. Patients who reported never smoking (72 erlotinib; 44 placebo) experienced improved OS in the erlotinib arm (22.5 v 10.1 months for placebo), though no other prespecified factors showed an advantage in OS with erlotinib. Erlotinib and placebo arms were equivalent in adverse events (except rash and diarrhea).CONCLUSION:Erlotinib with concurrent carboplatin and paclitaxel did not confer a survival advantage over carboplatin and paclitaxel alone in patients with previously untreated advanced NSCLC. Never smokers treated with erlotinib and chemotherapy seemed to experience an improvement in survival and will undergo further investigation in future randomized trials.Phase III study of erlotinib in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine in advancednon-small-cell lung cancer: the Tarceva Lung Cancer Investigation Trial.Gatzemeier U, Pluzanska A, Szczesna A, Kaukel E, Roubec J, De Rosa F, Milanowski J, Karnicka-Mlodkowski H, Pesek M, Serwatowski P, Ramlau R, Janaskova T, Vansteenkiste J, Strausz J, Manikhas GM, Von Pawel J.SourceZentrum Fur Pneumologie Und Thoraxchirurgie, Krankenhaus D LVA, Germany. pneumo.onko@t-online.deAbstractPURPOSE:Erlotinib is a potent inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, with single-agent antitumor activity. Preclinically, erlotinib enhanced the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy. This phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of erlotinib in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine as first-line treatment for advancednon-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).PATIENTS AND METHODS:Patients received erlotinib (150 mg/d) or placebo, combined with up to six 21-day cycles of chemotherapy (gemcitabine 1,250 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 and cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1). The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included time to disease progression (TTP), response rate (RR), duration of response, and quality of life (QoL).RESULTS:A total of 1,172 patients were enrolled. Baseline demographic and disease characteristics were well balanced. There were no differences in OS (hazard ratio, 1.06; median, 43 v 44.1 weeks for erlotinib and placebo groups, respectively), TTP, RR, or QoL between treatment arms. In a small group of patients who had never smoked, OS and progression-free survival were increased in the erlotinib group; no other subgroups were found more likely to benefit. Erlotinib with chemotherapy was generally well tolerated; incidence of adverse events was similar between arms, except for an increase in rash and diarrhea with erlotinib (generally mild).CONCLUSION:Erlotinib with concurrent cisplatin and gemcitabine showed no survival benefit compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with chemotherapy-naïve advanced NSCLC.。
