Intermittent high-dose treatment with erlotinib enhances therapeutic efficacy in EGFR-mutant lung cancer.

ABSTRACT: Treatment with EGFR kinase inhibitors improves progression-free survival of patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer. However, all patients with initial response will eventually acquire resistance and die from tumor recurrence. We found that intermittent high-dose treatment with erlotinib induced apoptosis more potently and improved tumor shrinkage significantly than the established low doses. In mice carrying EGFR-mutant xenografts intermittent high-dose treatment (200 mg/kg every other day) was tolerable and prolonged progression-free survival and reduced the frequency of acquired resistance. Intermittent EGFR-targeted high-dose schedules induce more profound as well as sustained target inhibition and may afford enhanced therapeutic efficacy.

SUBMITTER: Schottle J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4770714 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature