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D. Cortinovis



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    P1.10 - Poster Session 1 - Chemotherapy (ID 204)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Poster Session
    • Track: Medical Oncology
    • Presentations: 1
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      P1.10-056 - The Elderly Patient Individualized Chemotherapy Trial (EPIC): A Randomized Phase III Multicenter Trial of Customized Chemotherapy versus Standard of Care for 1st Line Treatment of Elderly Patients with Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (ID 1117)

      09:30 - 09:30  |  Author(s): D. Cortinovis

      • Abstract

      Background
      This is an ongoing phase III multicenter randomized trial comparing first line pharmacogenomic-driven chemotherapy based on Excision-Repair-Cross-Complementing-1 (ERCC1), Ribonucleotide Reductase subunit M1 (RRM1) and Thymidylate Synthase (TS) gene expression, versus standard first line treatment in elderly patients (pts) with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Chemotherapy selection based on an individual patient’s molecular profile is a potentially promising approach to optimize efficacy with the already available cytotoxic drugs. In older pts this is particularly relevant owing to their rapid deterioration of symptoms and their increased propensity to suffer therapy-induced toxicity.

      Methods
      Pts aged >70 years, with ECOG Performance Status (PS) 0 or 1, previously untreated for stage IV NSCLC will be evaluated. In a 2:1 fashion, pts will be randomized to experimental arm (A) or standard arm (B). They must have measurable disease and EGFR negative mutational status. In arm A, treatment with single or dual-agent chemotherapy will be based on histology, ERCC1 (E), RRM1 (R) and TS (T) expression at the mRNA level. Expression of E, R and T is assessed by qRT-PCR on paraffin-embedded tumor specimens in a central laboratory. The cut off for high or low expression have been previously defined. Pts with squamous NSCLC who are: E low/R high will be treated with single agent carboplatin, E high/R low with single agent gemcitabine, E low/R low with carboplatin and gemcitabine and E high/R high with docetaxel or vinorelbine. In non-squamous NSCLC pts: E low/T high will be treated with carboplatin, E high/T low with pemetrexed, E low/T low with carboplatin and pemetrexed, E high/T high/R low with gemcitabine and E high/T high/R high with docetaxel or vinorelbine. In arm B treatment will be standard of care at the discretion of the care provider. The primary endpoint is overall survival (OS). The secondary endpoints are progression-free survival (PFS), disease response according to RECIST 1.1 and tolerability (using CTCAE version 4.0). Feasibility of treatment selection based on pharmacogenomic parameters will also be assessed. Treatment will continue to a maximum of 6 cycles if tolerated or until disease progression. Switch maintenance treatment is not allowed in either arm. Continuation maintenance (one or more of the agents used in the initial regimen) is allowed at the discretion of the investigator. Treatment upon progression is at the discretion of the care provider. Assuming an exponential survival distribution for both treatment arms and a median survival time of 8 months in the control arm we anticipate to detect an improvement of 3 months in the median survival time in the experimental arm. To have 90% power to detect a three-month improvement in median survival at a significance level of 5% (2-sided) and assuming a 10% failure rate in gene analyses or loss to follow up rate, a sample size of 567 patients is planned to be enrolled.

      Results
      Not Applicable

      Conclusion
      We hypothesize that such tailored approach will improve survival decreasing the exposure to ineffective toxic agents in advanced NSCLC elderly pts. To our knowledge this is the first pharmacogenomic-driven randomized trial in this population.

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    P1.11 - Poster Session 1 - NSCLC Novel Therapies (ID 208)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Poster Session
    • Track: Medical Oncology
    • Presentations: 1
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      P1.11-033 - Afatinib in EGFR mutant non-small-cell lung cancer patients with acquired resistance to reversible EGFR-TKIs (ID 2285)

      09:30 - 09:30  |  Author(s): D. Cortinovis

      • Abstract

      Background
      Afatinib, an irreversible EGFR-HER2 dual inhibitor, demonstrated superiority versus standard platinum-based chemotherapy as front-line therapy in non-small-cell lung cancer patients (NSCLC) with activating Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutations. In pretreated NSCLC afatinib failed to improve survival when compared to placebo in patients refractory to gefitinib or erlotinib and not selected for EGFR status. Aim of the present study was to evaluate clinical efficacy of afatinib in EGFR mutant NSCLC patients (pts) with secondary resistance to reversible EGFR-TKIs.

      Methods
      We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 97 EGFR mutant lung cancer pts resistant to EGFR-TKI according to criteria used in the LUX-Lung 1 trial (Miller VA, Lancet Oncol 2012) and treated with Afatinib at the daily dose of 40-50 mg. The drug was given as compassionate use.

      Results
      The study included individuals with a median age of 62,5 year. The majority were females (N=63/64.9%), never/former smokers (N=94/96,9%), with good performance status (ECOG PS 0-1; N=90/90.2%) and pretreated with > 3 therapy lines (N=68/70.0%). EGFR status was assessed in tumor tissue obtained at the time of original diagnosis. The majority of pts (N=64, 66%) harbored a deletion in exon 19, while T790M mutation was detected in two cases including one case with double exon 19 and T790M mutation. Among the 95 pts evaluable for toxicity, 54.7% had any grade skin rash, including 11.6% with grade 3, and 50,5% had any grade of diarrhea, with grade 3 recorded in 10,5%. Among the 87 pts evaluable for efficacy, response rate (RR) was 11.5%, with a median progression free-survival and overall survival of 3.9 months and 7.3 months respectively. In 25 pts a tumor biopsy was repeated immediately before starting Afatinib therapy and 1 patient out of 5 individuals harboring T790M mutation showed a short extracerebral partial response, with following brain progression.

      Conclusion
      Our findings suggest that afatinib is modestly effective in EGFR mutant NSCLC with acquired resistance to reversible EGFR-TKIs.