Randomized phase II study of pulse erlotinib before or after carboplatin and paclitaxel in current or former smokers with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

A prior study demonstrated that addition of continuous daily erlotinib fails to improve response rate or survival in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with carboplatin and paclitaxel. However, preclinical data support the hypothesis that intermittent administration of erlotinib before or after chemotherapy may improve efficacy. We tested this hypothesis in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Patients and methods

Eligible patients were former or current smokers with chemotherapy-naive stage IIIB or IV NSCLC. All patients received up to six cycles of carboplatin (area under the curve = 6) and paclitaxel (200 mg/m(2)), with random assignment to one of the following three erlotinib treatments: erlotinib 150 mg on days 1 and 2 with chemotherapy on day 3 (150 P

SUBMITTER: Riely GJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2645610 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature