Erlotinib monotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: an effective approach with low toxicity.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and particularly erlotinib (Tarceva) has been a field of intense research. This retrospective study was conducted to assess the efficacy of erlotinib and its impact on survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with stage IIIB or IV, advanced or recurrent metastatic NSCLC were included in the study and were administered erlotinib 150 mg daily, at different lines of treatment. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients were included in the study: 29 (81%) male, 7 (19%) female. At the time of analysis, all patients had progressed and died. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4 months +/- 2.43 months (range 0-8 months), whereas median overall survival (OS) was 7 months +/- 2.65 months (range 3-15 months). Patients with ECOG performance status of 0 or 1 had better OS and significantly higher PFS rates. Overall response rate was 16.7%, while the disease control rate was 81%. CONCLUSION: Erlotinib is effective and well tolerated in pretreated patients with advanced NSCLC and a good performance status.

Bevacizumab added to the irinotecan and capecitabine combination for advanced colorectal cancer: a well-tolerated, active and convenient regimen.

OBJECTIVES: The literature data regarding bevacizumab (BEV) administered together with capecitabine (CAP) and irinotecan (IRI) in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) are limited. The safety and efficacy of the addition of BEV to the IRI and CAP (XELIRI) regimen were retrospectively analyzed and reported. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Adult patients 18 years or older with advanced CRC, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) < or =2, exposed to < or =1 chemotherapy (CT) regimen not including IRI or CAP, received BEV 7.5 mg/kg and IRI 220 mg/m2 both on day 1; CAP 1.8 g/m2/d, dl-14. The treatment was repeated every 21 days up to a total of 8 cycles. Responding or stabilized patients were treated with BEV 7.5 mg/m2, administered as maintenance every 21 days until disease progression. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients were treated, the majority (29, 85.3%) in first-line: eighteen (53%) male, 16 (47%) female, and aged 37-83 years (median 69.5). The treatment was moderately tolerated with mainly gastrointestinal complications: hematological, cardiovascular and other toxicities were also recorded, but they were manageable. No treatment-related death was noted. The overall response rate (RR) was 47.1%, while 41.2% of the patients achieved stable disease. Median progression-free survival and overall survival were 8 and 14 months, respectively, with 16% progression-free and 62% alive at 12 months. CONCLUSION: BEV-XELIRI is effective and well tolerated, leading to disease control in a vast majority of patients with advanced CRC.