Maintenance Therapy with Gefitinib after First-line Chemotherapy in Patients Affected by Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Background: Chemotherapy extends life for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Second-line treatment of NSCLC includes the use of cytotoxic drugs; however, toxicity is of concern. One molecular target for lung cancer is the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Gefitinib (Iressa™) is an EGFR inhibitor. The aim of our study was to evaluate time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS) and toxicities in a population affected by NSCLC using Iressa™ as maintenance therapy after first-line chemotherapy. Patients and Methods: Thirty patients were enrolled with stable disease or partial response. Six cycles of a platinum-based first-line chemotherapy were administered. Iressa™ was administered at the dose of 250 mg/d. Results: Median TTP was 5 months; median overall survival was 8 months. TTP for adenocarcinoma and non-adenocarcinoma patients was 10 months and 3.2 months, respectively. No toxic effects were seen in 80% of the patients; 17% of the patients had grade 1 follicolitis. OS for adenocarcinoma and non-adenocarcinoma patients were 15 and 5.9 months, respectively. Conclusion: Gefitinib could be an ideal second-line therapy for adenocarcinoma patients responding to first-line chemotherapy.