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Commentary |
Division of Oncology Drug Products, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland, USA
Key Words. Erlotinib (Tarceva®) tablets • Non-small cell lung cancer • Metastatic • Second-line treatment
Correspondence: Martin H. Cohen, M.D., U.S. Food and Drug Administration, HFD-150, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, USA. Telephone: 301-594-2473; Fax: 301-594-0499; e-mail: cohenma{at}cder.fda.gov
Received March 22, 2005; accepted for publication June 9, 2005.
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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A phase I trial established that the maximal tolerated dose of erlotinib, on a protracted daily schedule, was 150 mg/day. The dose-limiting toxicities were diarrhea and skin rash [3]. No studies have been conducted comparing a lower daily dose of erlotinib with the 150-mg/day dose.
Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated that biologically relevant plasma drug concentrations of erlotinib were achieved and were maintained at the 150-mg/day dosage. These studies further demonstrated that erlotinib, 150 mg/day, results in a plasma AUC that is higher by one order of magnitude than the plasma AUC achieved by gefitinib (Iressa®; AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Wilmington, DE, http://www.astrazeneca-us.com), a related EGFR inhibitor [1].
| PATIENTS AND METHODS |
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The primary efficacy objective was to compare overall survival between the two treatment arms. Secondary objectives were to compare the two treatment arms for progression-free survival (PFS), response rate and duration, and quality of life as measured by the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life questionnaires QLQ-C30 and the lung cancer module QLQ-LC13. An additional objective was to correlate the expression of tissue EGFR levels with treatment outcome.
| RESULTS |
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A subset analysis according to smoking status showed that the erlotinib survival benefit was greater in patients who had never smoked (HR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.30.6) than in smokers (HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.71.1). The subset of patients who had never smoked and were EGFR positive had a large erlotinib survival benefit (18 treated with erlotinib, 12 given placebo; HR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.110.67; p = .003). There were insufficient patients who were never smokers and were EGFR negative to perform an analysis.
Multivariate analyses consistently confirmed a favorable erlotinib survival effect in the EGFR-positive group. The multivariate analyses failed to rule out a small erlotinib survival effect in EGFR-negative patients.
PFS was significantly longer in the erlotinib arm, with a median of 9.9 weeks, versus 7.9 weeks in the placebo arm. The adjusted HR for PFS was 0.59 (95% CI, 0.50.7; p < .001). A longer PFS time was demonstrated in the EGFR-positive subgroup (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.330.72) and the EGFR-unmeasured subgroup (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.460.70). Improvement in PFS was less apparent in the EGFR-negative subgroup (HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.591.39).
The objective response rate by the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) in the erlotinib group was 8.9% (95% CI, 6.4%12.0%). The median duration of response was 34.3 weeks, ranging from 9.77.6+ weeks. Two responses (0.9%; 95% CI, 0.13.4) were reported in the placebo group. The median duration of placebo responses was 15.9 weeks. Tumor responses were observed in all EGFR subgroups: 11.6% in the EGFR-positive subgroup, 9.5% in the EGFR-unmeasured subgroup, and 3.2% in the EGFR-negative subgroup.
The sponsors quality-of-life analysis was not found to be sufficiently robust/consistent to be included in the package insert.
In addition to erlotinib trials in refractory patients, two large trials were conducted in chemotherapy-naïve, stage III and IV NSCLC patients. Two thousand two hundred fifty-one patients were randomized to receive either erlotinib, 150 mg daily, or placebo in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy regimens. The chemotherapies given in these first-line trials were gemcitabine (Gemzar®; Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, http://www.lilly.com) and cisplatin (Platinol®; Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ, http://www.bms.com) (n = 1,172) or carboplatin (Paraplatin®; Bristol-Myers Squibb) and paclitaxel (Taxol®; Bristol-Myers Squibb) (n = 1,059). There was no evidence of erlotinib benefit in tumor response rates, time to progression, or overall survival when compared with placebo-treated patients [4, 5].
| SAFETY |
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Infrequent cases of gastrointestinal bleeding have been reported in clinical studies, some associated with concomitant warfarin (Coumadin®; Bristol-Myers Squibb) administration and some with concomitant nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug administration. National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria grade 3 conjunctivitis and keratitis have been reported infrequently in patients receiving erlotinib therapy. Corneal ulcerations may also occur.
Cases of interstitial lung disease (ILD) have been observed in patients receiving erlotinib at an overall incidence of about 0.8% (patients in the placebo group had a similar incidence of ILD). Reports have included interstitial pneumonia, pneumonitis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary fibrosis, andalveolitis. Patients often present with the acute onset of dyspnea, sometimes associated with cough or low-grade fever, often becoming severe within a short time and requiring hospitalization. Symptoms started from 5 days to >9 months (median 47 days) after initiating erlotinib therapy. Most of the cases were associated with confounding or contributing factors such as concomitant/prior chemotherapy, prior radiotherapy, pre-existing parenchymal lung disease, metastatic lung disease, or pulmonary infections.
In the event of pulmonary symptoms (dyspnea, cough, fever), erlotinib therapy should be interrupted and a prompt investigation of these symptoms should occur. If ILD is confirmed, erlotinib should be discontinued and the patient treated appropriately.
| DISCUSSION |
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Other studies have not completely supported the above results. One such phase II erlotinib trial enrolled 57 patients with EGFR-expressing (
10% of tumor cells staining positive) advanced NSCLC. There were seven partial responders and 34 patients with stable disease. Neither tumor response nor stable disease was associated with a higher percentage of cells positive for EGFR expression or more intensive EGFR staining [6]. A similar study, performed in patients receiving gefitinib treatment, also found that the degree of tumor cell membrane EGFR staining was not clinically relevant to treatment outcome [7].
More recent studies have investigated the effect of specific somatic mutations of the EGFR gene on treatment outcome. In one study of gefitinib-treated NSCLC patients, eight of nine patients whose tumors responded to treatment had documented mutations (small, in-frame deletions or amino acid substitutions) in the tyrosine kinase domain of the EGFR gene. None of the seven patients who failed to respond to gefitinib treatment had a gene mutation. All responding patients had bronchoalveolar carcinoma or adenocarcinoma. Six of the nine responding patients had never smoked and three were former smokers. Six of the nine responding patients were female [8].
Paez et al. provide supportive evidence that EGFR mutation status may predict sensitivity to gefitinib. They demonstrated that mutations were more frequent in adeno-carcinomas than in other NSCLC histologies, in females than in males, and in Japanese patients than in U.S. patients. (Japanese patients have higher gefitinib response rates than U.S. patients.) Clinical and/or symptomatic responses to gefitinib were observed in five patients with somatic EGFR kinase domain mutations, while none of the four patients without mutations had a tumor response [9].
Pao et al. studied both gefitinib- and erlotinib-treated NSCLC patients. They reported similar findings for both drugs. Seven of the 10 gefitinib-responding patients had somatic mutations, whereas none of the eight gefitinib-refractory tumors were mutation-positive. Five of the seven erlotinib-responding patients were mutation-positive whereas all 10 erlotinib-refractory patients were mutation-negative. Mutations were most commonly observed in patients with adenocarcinomas with or without bronchoalveolar carcinoma features and in never smokers [10].
Additional studies are obviously required. To date, EGFR mutational status has correlated with response rate. Whether it will correlate with survival must be determined. Further, does the observation that small numbers of responders appear to be mutation-negative suggest that there are additional, as yet undiscovered, EGFR mutations? The fact that most patients with EGFR mutations are never-smokers who are female and have adenocarcinomas or bronchoalveolar carcinomas suggests that future study populations might be enriched for this patient group.
The sponsor has agreed to perform two postmarketing studies in stage IIIB unresectable and stage IV NSCLC patients who have EGFR expression status determined by the method outlined above prior to randomization. Analyses of results will include an assessment of treatment effect in the subgroup with positive EGFR expression status and the subgroup with negative EGFR expression status.
In one study, patients with objective responses or stable disease following four cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy will be randomized to receive either erlotinib or placebo maintenance therapy. The primary end point is PFS. In the second study, patients who experienced disease progression or unacceptable toxicity during platinum-based chemotherapy will be randomized to receive erlotinib, pemetrexed (Alimta®; Eli Lilly and Company), or docetaxel (Taxotere®; Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc.) chemotherapy. The primary end point is overall survival.
These two studies, in which 100% of patients will have known DAKO kit EGFR status, should provide useful information on the prognostic value of the determination.
| DISCLOSURE OF POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST |
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| ACKNOWLEDGMENT |
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| REFERENCES |
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