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IMPORTANCEAlthough the efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors for EGFR gene mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer is well established, optimal dosing remains to be established, especially in elderly or frail patients.OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy and safety of low-dose erlotinib in elderly or frail patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Single-arm phase 2 trial with the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) 2-stage design that enrolled frail patients from 21 Japanese institutions after meeting the inclusion criteria. Chemotherapy-naive patients with EGFR-activating mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer who were considered frail based on age, the Charlson Comorbidity Index, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status were eligible for the study.INTERVENTIONS Patients were initially administered 50 mg/d erlotinib for 4 weeks, which was modified based on response or adverse events. Dose increase was permitted for patients with stable disease after 4 weeks. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe primary end point was the independent review committee-confirmed objective response rate (ORR) at the dose of 50 mg/d. The study also evaluated the pharmacokinetics of low-dose erlotinib and influence of ABCB1 gene polymorphisms.RESULTS Eighty patients were enrolled, with a median (range) age of 80 (49-90) years; 54 (68%) were men. An independent review committee confirmed a significant ORR of 60.0% (90% CI, 50.2%-69.2%). The disease control rate was 90.0% (90% CI, 82.7%-94.9%), median progression-free survival was 9.3 months (95% CI, 7.2-11.4 months), and median overall survival was 26.2 months (95% CI, 21.9-30.4 months). Mild adverse events were observed in some participants, with few patients exhibiting grade 3 or greater adverse events. Low-dose erlotinib treatment was temporarily suspended for 10 patients owing to adverse events. Five of 80 patients (6%) had their erlotinib dose reduced to 25 mg because of oral mucositis, paronychia, erythema multiforme, diarrhea, and anorexia. Two patients discontinued treatment because of adverse events (cutaneous ulcer and bone infection, and oral mucositis, respectively). There were no cases of interstitial lung disease or treatment-related deaths. The median (range) erlotinib plasma concentration was measured at 685 (153-1950) ng/mL. Seventy-three patients discontinued study treatment owing to disease progression (n = 60), death (n = 3), AEs (n = 4), and patient requests (n = 6). No clear association was observed between the pharmacokinetics of low-dose erlotinib and the treatment outcome.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Low-dose erlotinib appears to be safe and effective in elderly or frail patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer and can be a valid treatment option.

A sufficiently large tissue sample is required to perform next-generation sequencing (NGS) with a high success rate, but the majority of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are diagnosed with small biopsy specimens. Biopsy samples were collected from 184 patients with bronchoscopically diagnosed NSCLC. The tissue surface area, tumor cell count, and tumor content rate of each biopsy sample were evaluated. The impact of the cut-off criteria for the tissue surface area (≥1 mm2) and tumor content rate (≥30%) on the success rate of the Oncomine Dx Target Test (ODxTT) was evaluated. The mean tissue surface area of the transbronchial biopsies was 1.23 ± 0.85 mm2 when small endobronchial ultrasonography with a guide sheath (EBUS-GS) was used, 2.16 ± 1.49 mm2 with large EBUS-GS, and 1.81 ± 0.75 mm2 with endobronchial biopsy (EBB). The proportion of samples with a tissue surface area of ≥1 mm2 was 48.8% for small EBUS-GS, 79.2% for large EBUS-GS, and 78.6% for EBB. Sixty-nine patients underwent ODxTT. The success rate of DNA sequencing was 84.1% and that of RNA sequencing was 92.7% over all patients. The success rate of DNA (RNA) sequencing was 57.1% (71.4%) for small EBUS-GS (n = 14), 93.4% (96.9%) for large EBUS-GS (n = 32), 62.5% (100%) for EBB (n = 8), and 100% (100%) for endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) (n = 15). Regardless of the device used, a tissue surface area of ≥ 1 mm2 is adequate for samples to be tested with NGS.

Abstract. There are few established treatments for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with interstitial lung disease (ILD). The safety and efficacy of albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) in combination with carboplatin is uncertain, although the combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel is the most common regimen for treating NSCLC patients with ILD. A total of 9 NSCLC patients with ILD, treated between April 2013 and March 2016, were retrospectively investigated. Carboplatin (AUC 5-6) was administered on day 1 and nab-paclitaxel on days 1, 8 and 15, every 4-6 weeks. The median age of the patients upon initiating chemotherapy was 67 years. The pathological examination revealed 6 patients with squamous cell carcinoma, and 6 patients exhibited the typical pattern of ILD. The response rate was 55.6%, and the median progression-free and overall survival time was 174 and 344 days, respectively. Acute exacerbation of ILD was not observed in any of the patients, and febrile neutropenia developed in 3 patients (3/9, 33.3%). Thus, treatment with carboplatin plus nab-paclitaxel was found to be safe and effective for NSCLC patients with ILD, although management of hematological adverse events, such as febrile neutropenia, was required. However, these encouraging results require confirmation by a large-scale clinical trial.

BackgroundMalignant pleural effusion (MPE) can occur during the progression of various cancers. However, factors, such as the incidence of MPE associated with different types of cancers and its potential for diagnosing previously undetected cancers, are unknown. Moreover, MPE may accompany potentially curable cancers or those with a favorable survival prognosis with adequate treatment. The present study determined the types of cancers accompanied by MPE at initial diagnosis and investigated appropriate related methods for diagnosing previously unknown cancers.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 35 patients with MPE at initial cancer diagnosis between 2004 and 2012. We evaluated the patient characteristics, final diagnosis, and diagnostic processes.ResultsOf the 35 patients, 10 had lung cancer, seven ovarian or peritoneal cancer, four malignant pleural mesothelioma, one breast cancer, one lymphoma, one pancreatic cancer, and 11 had cancers of unknown origin. Diagnoses of the primary lesions were confirmed using the MPE cellblock method for seven of 11 patients (63.6%), by excisional biopsy or aspiration from other sites in four of nine patients, by exploratory laparotomy in two of three patients, and by peritoneal washing cytology in five patients.ConclusionLung cancer and cancer of unknown origin are major causes of MPE at initial presentation. However, these groups also contain cancers that are curable and those with good long‐term prognosis. The MPE cellblock method represents an accurate method for identifying cancer origin.

BackgroundSmall cell lung cancer (SCLC) is typically categorized according to disease extent as limited or extensive, and utility of the 8th TNM classification, recommended for lung cancer staging, which demonstrates a strong association with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) management, remains unclear.MethodsThis retrospective study included 277 consecutive SCLC patients treated at a single institution between 2008 and 2016.ResultsAccording to the currently used two-stage system, 186 (65.7%) of the patients were classified as having extensive disease (ED)-SCLC. Among the ED-SCLC patients, ten (5.3%), 38 (20.4%), 32 (17.2%), and 106 (57.0%) were categorized into stages M0, M1a, M1b, and M1c, respectively, according to the 8th TNM classification. There was a significant difference in overall survival based on the M descriptors: 15.8 (95% CI 9.4–22.2) months in the M1b group vs 7.3 (95% CI 5.7–8.9) months in the M1c group (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that in addition to the known prognostic factors such as performance status, serum albumin, and lactate dehydrogenase, M descriptor was a prognostic factor (HR 1.95, 95% CI 1.38–2.77; P<0.001).ConclusionThe 8th TNM classification has a prognostic value in SCLC. Similarly to NSCLC, treatment approaches should be considered on the basis of the 8th TNM classification, especially stage IVA separate from stage IVB in ED-SCLC patients.

Background CheckMate 9LA, a phase 3, randomized, open-label study in first-line advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), showed significantly improved overall survival (OS) with nivolumab plus ipilimumab combined with 2 cycles of chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone (4 cycles). We present results for the Asian subpopulation enrolled in Japan and China. Methods Patients aged ≥ 18 years with treatment-naive, histologically confirmed stage IV or recurrent NSCLC, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0–1 and no sensitizing EGFR/ALK mutations were randomized 1:1 to nivolumab [360 mg every 3 weeks (Q3W)] plus ipilimumab (1 mg/kg Q6W) combined with chemotherapy (Q3W for 2 cycles), or chemotherapy alone (Q3W for 4 cycles). Primary endpoint was OS; secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR). Results Twenty-eight patients received nivolumab plus ipilimumab combined with chemotherapy and 30 received chemotherapy. At a minimum follow-up of 12.7 months, median OS was not reached with nivolumab plus ipilimumab combined with chemotherapy versus 13.3 months with chemotherapy [hazard ratio (HR) 0.33; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14–0.80]. Median PFS was 8.4 versus 5.4 months (HR 0.47; 95% CI 0.24–0.92) and ORR was 57% versus 23%, respectively. Grade 3–4 treatment-related adverse events were observed in 57% versus 60% of patients, respectively. Conclusion Consistent with results in the all randomized population, nivolumab plus ipilimumab combined with chemotherapy improved efficacy in the Asian subpopulation versus chemotherapy alone and had a manageable safety profile, supporting its use as first-line treatment for advanced NSCLC in Asian patients.

TPS9120 Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathways are shown to be interrelated in several preclinical studies. Furthermore, recent clinical studies have shown the adding effect of an anti VEGF monoclonal antibody with an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) for the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with EGFR mutation. Thus, osimertinib plus ramucirumab would be the promising candidate for the new standard treatment in EGFR mutation positive NSCLC. Methods: This study is an investigator initiated trial. Previously untreated EGFR mutation positive advanced non squamous NSCLC patients aged 20 years or older with a performance status of 0 or 1 are randomized at a 1:1 ratio to receive osimertinib (80mg) every day either without or with ramucirumab (10mg/kg) every 2 weeks until evidence of disease progression or development of unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint of the study is progression free survival (PFS) assessed by the central image reviewer. Secondly endpoints include PFS (assessed by an attending physician), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), duration of response (DOR), overall survival (OS), safety and toxicity profile. Stratification factors are gender and the type of EGFR mutation (exon 19 deletion, Leu858Arg point mutation in exon 21). We determined that, with a sample size of 120 patients (60 in each arm), the trial will have 80% power to show a hazard ratio for disease progression or death of 0.667 at a one-sided alpha level of 0.2 (as calculated on the basis of 80 such events) for comparison between the two arms with 1.5-year accrual and 2-year follow-up periods. Study enrollment began in November 2018 and is continued for 3.5 years among 20 sites of Thoracic Oncology Research Group (TORG). Seven patients were enrolled at time of submission. Clinical trial information: 184146.