Phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of gemcitabine/cisplatin alone or with sorafenib for the first-line treatment of advanced, nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: This trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of sorafenib plus gemcitabine/cisplatin in chemotherapy-naive patients with unresectable stage IIIB to IV nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between February 2007 and March 2009, 904 patients were randomly assigned to daily sorafenib (400 mg twice a day) or matching placebo plus gemcitabine (1,250 mg/m(2) per day on days 1 and 8) and cisplatin (75 mg/m(2) on day 1) for up to six 21-day cycles. Because of safety findings from the Evaluation of Sorafenib, Carboplatin and Paclitaxel Efficacy in NSCLC (ESCAPE) trial, patients with squamous cell histology were withdrawn from the trial in February 2008 and excluded from analysis. The primary end point was overall survival (OS), and secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS) and time-to-progression (TTP). RESULTS: The primary analysis population consisted of 772 patients (sorafenib, 385; placebo, 387); the two groups had similar demographic and baseline characteristics. Median OS was similar in the sorafenib and placebo groups (12.4 v 12.5 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.98; P = .401). By investigator assessment, sorafenib improved median PFS (6.0 v 5.5 months; HR, 0.83; P = .008) and TTP (6.1 v 5.5 months; HR, 0.73; P < .001). Grade 3 to 4 drug-related adverse events more than two-fold higher in the sorafenib group included hand-foot skin reaction (8.6% v 0.3%), fatigue (7.3% v 3.6%), rash (5.7% v 0.5%), and hypertension (4.2% v 1.8%). No unexpected toxicities were observed. CONCLUSION: This study did not meet its primary end point of improved OS when sorafenib was added to first-line gemcitabine/cisplatin in patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC. Identification of predictive biomarkers is warranted in future trials of sorafenib.

Long-term safety and tolerability of sorafenib in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a case-based review.

BACKGROUND: Sorafenib, a small-molecule inhibitor of multiple kinases involved in tumor growth and progression, is approved for the treatment of advanced renal-cell carcinoma and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Encouraging activity and good tolerability of daily oral sorafenib, either as a single agent or in combination with gefitinib, have been demonstrated in phase I-II trials in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Currently, minimal data are available describing the long-term safety and tolerability of sorafenib in patients with NSCLC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We describe a series of 12 patients with advanced NSCLC (derived from 1 phase I and 2 phase II trials) who achieved long-term (ie, > 12 months) disease control and continued to receive sorafenib alone or in combination with gefitinib beyond the end of the study in which they were enrolled. RESULTS: The safety profile of sorafenib administered on a long-term basis did not differ significantly from that seen previously in the shorter term. The majority of adverse events (AEs) were Grade 1-2 in severity. Five of the 12 patients experienced no ≥ Grade 3 AEs. There was no evidence of increased frequency or severity of AEs over time, or of late AEs, and no patient in this series discontinued study treatment because of AEs. CONCLUSION: In patients with advanced NSCLC who achieve a prolonged response or stable disease with sorafenib given as a single agent or as part of a combination regimen, sorafenib treatment could be continued until disease progression without major long-term safety or tolerability problems.

Single-agent pemetrexed for chemonaïve and pretreated patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma: results of an International Expanded Access Program.

INTRODUCTION: Pemetrexed has established efficacy, and is the backbone for chemotherapy in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). An International Expanded Access Program provided >3000 mesothelioma patients with access to single-agent pemetrexed or pemetrexed plus platinum analogs (cisplatin or carboplatin) in 13 countries. In this article, we report the safety and efficacy data of MPM patients who were treated with single-agent pemetrexed (n = 812). METHODS: Patients with histologically confirmed MPM, not amenable to curative surgery, received pemetrexed (500 mg/m) once (day 1) every 21 days with standard premedication and vitamin supplementation. Investigator-determined response and survival data were recorded at the end of study participation. Myelosuppression data were also collected. RESULTS: All 812 MPM patients (319 chemonaïve; 493 pretreated) received single-agent pemetrexed (>or=1 dose) and were evaluated for safety. A total of 643 patients (247 chemonaïve, 396 pretreated) were evaluated for efficacy. Of the chemonaïve patients evaluated for efficacy (n = 247), the overall response rate was 10.5%, median time to progressive disease (TTPD) was 6.0 months, and median survival was 14.1 month. Of the pretreated patients evaluated for efficacy (n = 396), the overall response rate was 12.1%, median TTPD was 4.9 months, and the median survival was not estimable due to high censoring. Common terminology criteria grade 3/4 hematologic toxicity was mild in both groups, with neutropenia (<18%) as the main toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: In the present expanded access program, single-agent pemetrexed demonstrated promising activity in MPM in both chemonaïve and pretreated patients, with TTPD of 6.0 and 4.9 months, respectively, 1-year survival >or=54.7%, and mild hematologic toxicity.