Phase II study of the farnesyltransferase inhibitor lonafarnib with paclitaxel in patients with taxane-refractory/resistant nonsmall cell lung carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The authors evaluated the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of treatment using lonafarnib, a novel farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI), in combination with paclitaxel in patients with metastatic (Stage IIIB/V), taxane-refractory/resistant nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). METHODS: Patients with NSCLC who experienced disease progression while receiving previous taxane therapy or who had disease recurrence within 3 months after taxane therapy cessation were treated with continuous lonafarnib 100 mg orally twice per day beginning on Day 1 and paclitaxel 175 mg/m(2) intravenously over 3 hours on Day 8 of each 21-day cycle. RESULTS: A total of 33 patients were enrolled, 29 of whom were evaluable for response. Partial responses (PR) and stable disease (SD) were observed in 3 (10%) and 11 patients (38%), respectively. Thus, 48% (14 of 29) experienced clinical benefit (PR or SD). The updated and final median overall survival time was 39 weeks and the median disease progression-free survival time was 16 weeks. The combination of lonafarnib and paclitaxel was well tolerated with minimal toxicity. Grade 3 toxicities included fatigue (9%), diarrhea (6%), and dyspnea (6%). Grade 3 neutropenia occurred in only 1 patient (3%). Grade 4 adverse events included respiratory insufficiency in 2 patients (6%) and acute respiratory failure in 1 patient (3%). CONCLUSIONS: Lonafarnib plus paclitaxel demonstrated clinical activity in patients with taxane-refractory/resistant metastatic NSCLC. In addition, the combination of lonafarnib and paclitaxel was well tolerated with minimal toxicity. Evaluation of this combination therapy in additional clinical trials is warranted.

HER2 expression in salivary gland carcinomas: dependence on histological subtype.

PURPOSE: Previous evaluation of HER2 overexpression in salivary gland cancers indicated an incidence varying between 7 and 56%, with no clear difference among three histologically different subtypes. As part of a Phase II trial of trastuzumab for treatment of incurable salivary gland cancer, we screened 137 tumors for HER2 expression. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Unstained sections of paraffin-embedded tumor samples were stained with p185/HER2 receptor antibody. Tumors with moderate (2+) to strong (3+) complete membrane staining in at least 10% of the tumor cells were scored as positive for overexpression. RESULTS: The overall frequency of overexpression for HER2 was 17% (23 of 137), whereas it was only 8% in the three most common histological subtypes screened. Overexpression was distinctly rare in the most common subtype screened, adenoid cystic carcinoma (4%, 3 of 70). Overexpression was very common in salivary duct cancers; 10 (83%) of 12 were positive for HER2. This observation is consistent with the typical high-grade histological features and aggressive behavior of this subtype as well as with its histogenetic similarity to breast cancer. Analysis based on histogenesis (intercalated duct versus excretory duct) indicated a higher frequency of overexpression in the latter (55%) than in the former (7%). CONCLUSIONS: Our overall results suggest that trastuzumab will not have a major role in treatment of salivary gland cancers of intercalated duct origin. Further systematic evaluation of trastuzumab in subtypes of excretory duct origin could be supported.