Phase II trial of sorafenib and erlotinib in advanced pancreatic cancer.

This trial was designed to assess efficacy and safety of erlotinib with sorafenib in the treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. An exploratory correlative study analyzing pretreatment serum samples using a multivariate protein mass spectrometry-based test (VeriStrat®), previously shown to correlate with outcomes in lung cancer patients treated with erlotinib, was performed. Patients received sorafenib 400 mg daily along with erlotinib 150 mg daily with a primary endpoint of 8-week progression free survival (PFS) rate. Pretreatment serum sample analysis by VeriStrat was done blinded to clinical and outcome data; the endpoints were PFS and overall survival (OS). Difference between groups (by VeriStrat classification) was assessed using log-rank P values; hazard ratios (HR) were obtained from Cox proportional hazards model. Thirty-six patients received study drug and were included in the survival analysis. Eight-week PFS rate of 46% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.32-0.67) did not meet the primary endpoint of a rate ≥70%. Thirty-two patients were included in the correlative analysis, and VeriStrat "Good" patients had superior PFS (HR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.06-0.57; P = 0.001) and OS (HR = 0.31 95% CI: 0.13-0.77, P = 0.008) compared to VeriStrat "Poor" patients. Grade 3 toxicities of this regimen included fever, anemia, diarrhea, dehydration, rash, and altered liver function. This study did not meet the primary endpoint, and this combination will not be further pursued. In this small retrospective analysis, the proteomic classification was significantly associated with clinical outcomes and is being further evaluated in ongoing studies.

A phase II study of concurrent chemoradiation with weekly docetaxel, carboplatin, and radiation therapy followed by consolidation chemotherapy with docetaxel and carboplatin for locally advanced inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

INTRODUCTION: The current standard of care for good performance status patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma is concurrent chemoradiation, although a clearly superior regimen has not been identified. Docetaxel has been shown to possess good single-agent activity against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and radiosensitizing properties, both alone and synergistically with carboplatin. We undertook this phase II study to determine the safety and efficacy of weekly docetaxel-carboplatin and concurrent radiation therapy followed by docetaxel-carboplatin consolidation for the treatment of locally advanced NSCLC. METHODS: Sixty-seven patients having previously untreated stage IIIA or IIIB unresectable NSCLC were enrolled, with 61 patients evaluated for endpoints. Docetaxel 20 mg/m IV infusion over 30 minutes followed by carboplatin area under the curve = 2 over 30 minutes was administered weekly during concurrent thoracic radiotherapy. After 3 week rest, consolidation docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) IV infusion over 60 minutes and carboplatin area under the curve = 6 over 30 minutes was administered every 3 weeks for two cycles. Concurrent thoracic radiation consisted of 45 Gy (1.8 Gy fractions 5 d/wk for first 5 weeks) followed by 18 Gy boost (2.0 Gy fractions 5 d/wk for 2 weeks) for a total dose of 63 Gy. RESULTS: One and 2 years overall survival rates were 45 and 20%, respectively. Progression free survival at 1 year was 27%. Median survival time was 12 months. Median time to progression was 8 months. The primary hematologic toxicity was leukopenia. The primary nonhematologic toxicity was esophagitis. CONCLUSION: The administered regimen of weekly docetaxel-carboplatin and concurrent radiation therapy followed by docetaxel-carboplatin consolidation has acceptable toxicity profile. However, the overall survivals at 1 and 2 years are somewhat disappointing.