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Background FDG-PET/CT and Thallium SPECT (TL) which are radioisotope examination are inspection used as diagnostic imaging in the malignant tumors conventionally, and it is reported when useful for a stage diagnosis of the lung cancer. It was common to use the CT imaging according to the RECIST criteria for the effect judgment of cytotoxic agents and molecular target agents. In determining the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), we often experienced that the assessment on CT imaging and the true effect do not match. Therefore, we planned a prospective study to evaluate whether FDG-PET/CT and TL examination is useful for ICI effect judgment. We examined the correlation between SUV differences on PET examination before treatment and 2 months after treatment initiation and RECIST evaluation. Methods A total of 18 advanced NSCLC patients treated at Kansai Medical University Hospital from September 2017 to September 2018 using ICI monotherapy were enrolled in this study. We examined the correlation with a PERCIST response rate and the response rate that went to the CT evaluation using RECIST1.1. Results The median age was 74 years. There were 15 men and three women. 15 cases were evaluable both before and two months after treatment initiatoin. There were CR/PR/SD/PD;0/3/7/5 by RECIST evaluation, and the curative effect judgment by FDG-PET were CMR/PMR/SMD/PMD; 1/3/6/5. 1 case was PD in RECIST, but was PMR in FDG-PET.The PR case tended to be higher in Tl accumulation after the treatment than an SD and PD cases. Conclusions The effect measurement by FDG-PET showed usefulness with more than that of RECIST evaluation and Tl-SPECT seems to have the potential to be useful in determining the effect of ICIs. Legal entity responsible for the study Takayasu Kurata. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Background The anti¯PD¯1 antibody pembrolizumab (pembro) exhibits robust antitumor activity in patients with advanced NSCLC. In part B¯C of KEYNOTE¯011 (NCT01905657), we evaluated the efficacy and safety of pembro + chemotherapy combinations in advanced NSCLC. Here we report primary results from both studies. This is the longest follow-up data on treatment of pembro plus standard chemotherapy regimens in Japanese NSCLC patients. Methods Chemotherapy-naive, advanced, EGFR/ALK (¯) NSCLC pts, PS 0 or 1, were treated to pembro plus either cisplatin or carboplatin + pemetrexed (PEM) (part B, non-squamous), or carboplatin and paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel (part C, squamous) for 4 cycles followed by maintenance pembro + PEM (B), pembro (C). Results In part B, 12 pts (6 in cisplatin cohort, 6 in carboplatin cohort) had been treated; median (range) follow-up duration was 16.0 mo (3.7 ¯ 21.2 mo). 1 DLT occurred in cisplatin cohort (Grade 4 Hyponatremia) during the DLT evaluation period. At the time of data cutoff, ≥Gr 3 treatment-related AEs occurred in 75.0%, 2 treatment¯related death occurred (2 pneumonitis in carboplatin cohort). ORR was 66.7% and 80.0% in cisplatin and carboplatin cohort, respectively. ORR with cohorts combined in TPS ≥50%, TPS = 1¯49%, TPS Conclusions Pembro plus standard chemotherapy regimens is feasible and yields substantial clinical efficacy regardless of PD¯L1 status in treatment-naive advanced NSCLC. Detailed survival and safety will be presented.

Background: KEYNOTE-189 is a randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase III study of pembro plus pemetrexed-platinum versus placebo plus pemetrexed-platinum among pts with metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC. At median follow-up of 10.5 months, pts in the pembro-combination arm had improved OS (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.38-0.64; P Methods: Pts with untreated metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC, ECOG PS 0/1, and without EGFR/ALK alteration were randomized 2:1 to receive up to 35 Q3W cycles of pembro 200 mg or placebo plus 4 cycles of pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 and carboplatin AUC 5 mg/mL/min or cisplatin 75 mg/m2 followed by maintenance pemetrexed. Randomization was stratified by PD-L1 TPS ( Results: 616 pts were randomized (pembro-combination, n=410; placebo-combination, n=206). At data cutoff, median follow-up was 18.7 months. At baseline, 19% of pts had liver metastases and 18% had brain metastases. HRs for OS and PFS favored the pembro-combination vs placebo-combination across all groups, and were similar for pts with/without liver or brain metastases (Table). Conclusion: Pembro plus pemetrexed-platinum provided superior outcomes vs chemotherapy alone irrespective of liver or brain metastases in pts with untreated metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC. Benefit was observed in pts with brain or liver metastases, for whom prognosis is historically poor. PFSOSN*Median, mo (95% CI)HR(95% CI)Median, mo (95% CI)HR(95% CI)Pts With Liver MetastasesPembro-combination666.1 (4.7-8.5)0.52 (0.34-0.81)12.6 (8.1-19.1)0.62 (0.39-0.98)Placebo-combination493.4 (2.8-4.7)6.6 (4.6-7.6)Pts Without Liver MetastasesPembro-combination3449.2 (8.8-11.0)0.48 (0.39-0.59)23.7 (20.1-25.9)0.58 (0.45-0.74)Placebo-combination1575.4 (4.9-6.7)13.2 (10.0-16.4)Pts With Brain MetastasesPembro-combination736.9 (5.4-11.0)0.42 (0.27-0.67)19.2 (15.0-25.9)0.41 (0.24-0.67)Placebo-combination354.7 (2.2-5.5)7.5 (4.6-10.0)Pts Without Brain MetastasesPembro-combination3379.2 (8.3-10.9)0.48 (0.39-0.59)22.4 (19.7-25.4)0.59 (0.46-0.75)Placebo-combination1714.9 (4.7-5.9)12.1 (9.1-15.0)*25 patients had both brain and liver metastases. 1 of 2 Citation Format: Marina C. Garassino, Shirish Gadgeel, Emilio Esteban, Enriqueta Felip, Giovanna Speranza, Flávia De Angelis, Manuel Domine, Philip Clingan, Maximilian J. Hochmair, Steven F. Powell, Susanna Y.-S. Cheng, Helge G. Bischoff, Nir Peled, Francesco Grossi, Ross R. Jennens, Martin Reck, Rina Hui, Edward B. Garon, Michael Boyer, Belén Rubio-Viqueira, Silvia Novello, Takayasu Kurata, Jhanelle E. Gray, Anna Cardellino, Jing Yang, M. Catherine Pietanza, Delvys Rodríguez-Abreu. Outcomes among patients (pts) with metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC with liver metastases or brain metastases treated with pembrolizumab (pembro) plus pemetrexed-platinum: Results from the KEYNOTE-189 study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT043.

634 Background: Chemotherapy in relapsed colon cancer patients (pts) treated with oxaliplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy is under debate. REACT study aimed to investigate the efficacy of re-introducing FOLFOX or XELOX ± bevacizumab therapy for recurrent colorectal cancer pts after adjuvant chemotherapy including oxaliplatin. Methods: Pts with past history of adjuvant chemotherapy including oxaliplatin (FOLFOX, XELOX or SOX) with a cumulative dose of more than 400 mg/m2, and recurrence observed by imaging after more than 6 months post adjuvant chemotherapy participated in this trial. Primary endpoints were response rate (RR) and disease control rate (DCR). Key secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), time to treatment failure (TTF), overall survival (OS) and safety. Results: A total of 31 pts were enrolled between Oct 2012 and Oct 2016. Of 29 eligible pts, 7 received FOLFOX ± bevacizumab, and 22 received XELOX ± bevacizumab. 28 of the pts received bevacizumab. The RR was 66.7% (95% CI, 46.0-83.5) and the DCR was 88.9% (95% CI, 70.8-97.6). The RR for oxaliplatin free-interval was 100.0% (n = 4, 95% CI, 39.8-100.0) in 6 to 12 months, 60.9% (n = 25, 95% CI, 38.5-80.3%) over 12 month, respectively. Median PFS, TTF and OS were 10.9 months (95% CI, 7.0-19.0), 6.3 months (95% CI, 2.8-8.0) and 29.1 months (95% CI, 20.3-53.3). The most common grade 3 or 4 adverse event was hypertension (19.4%). Grade 3 or worse peripheral sensory neuropathy developed only two pts (6.5%). Allergic reactions occurred in 12.9% of the pts, with one (3.2%) grade 3 episode. There were no other severe treatment-related adverse events. Conclusions: Re-introduction of oxaliplatin was feasible and achieved high RR or DCR in after more than 6 months post adjuvant chemotherapy including oxaliplatin. Clinical trial information: UMIN000006523.

BACKGROUND A previous phase 3 trial demonstrated noninferiority in terms of overall survival for combined S-1 (an oral fluoropyrimidine) and carboplatin compared with combined paclitaxel and carboplatin as first-line treatment for advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the current study, the authors evaluated the efficacy and safety of combined S-1, carboplatin, and bevacizumab followed by maintenance with S-1 and bevacizumab in chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC. METHODS Patients received carboplatin (area under the concentration-time curve, 5 mg mL−1 per minute) and bevacizumab (15 mg/kg) on day 1 plus oral S-1 (80 mg/m2 per day) on days 1 through 14 every 21 days for up to 6 cycles. For patients without disease progression, S-1 and bevacizumab were continued until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity developed. RESULTS Forty-eight patients were enrolled in the phase 2 study; of these, 35 patients (72.9%) completed at least 4 cycles. Most toxicities of grade ≥3 were hematologic, and no increase in relative incidence associated with maintenance with S-1 and bevacizumab was observed. The objective response rate was 54.2% (95% confidence interval, 39.2%-68.6%), and the median progression-free survival was 6.8 months (95% confidence interval, 4.3-8.2 months). CONCLUSIONS The regimen of combined S-1, carboplatin, and bevacizumab followed by maintenance with S-1 and bevacizumab was active and feasible as first-line treatment for advanced nonsquamous NSCLC. Cancer 2013;119:2275–2281. © 2013 American Cancer Society.

Detection of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations is essential in deciding therapeutic strategy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients at initial diagnosis. Moreover, in EGFR mutation-positive (EGFRm) NSCLC patients, re-biopsy at disease progression to clarify resistance mechanisms is also important. However, collecting histology samples is often difficult because of inaccessibility and invasiveness. In some cases, only cytology samples can be collected, and studies have reported that cytology samples are appropriate for EGFR gene mutation testing. The cobasWe conducted a multicenter, observational study in Japan. Overall, 41 EGFRm NSCLC patients who had both histology and cytology samples collected at the same time at re-biopsy and with the results of EGFR mutation test using histology samples were enrolled. The EGFR mutation status of both sample types was tested using the cobasThe EGFR T790M mutation detection rate in histology and cytology samples was 42.5% and 37.5%, respectively. The overall percent agreement between the histology and cytology samples was 91.7%.These data demonstrate that the cobas

Objective Disease progression because of acquired resistance is common in advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutation positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), despite initial response to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). In Japan, transbronchial tissue biopsy is the most common sampling method used for re-biopsy to identify patients eligible for treatment. We aimed to investigate the success rate of re-biopsy and re-biopsy status of patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC completing first-line EGFR-TKI therapy. Patients and methods This was a retrospective, multi-center, Japanese study. The target patients in the study were EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC patients. The primary endpoint was the success rate (number of cases in which tumor cells were detected/total number of re-biopsies performed×100). Secondary endpoints included differences between the status of the first biopsy and that of the re-biopsy in the same patient population, and the details of cases in which re-biopsy could not be carried out. Re-biopsy-associated complications were also assessed. Results Overall, 395 patients were evaluated (median age 63 years), with adenocarcinoma being the most common tumor type. Re-biopsy was successful in 314 patients (79.5%). Compared with the sampling method at first biopsy, at re-biopsy, the surgical resection rate increased from 1.8% to 7.8%, and percutaneous tissue biopsy increased from 7.6% to 29.1%, suggesting the difficulty of performing re-biopsy. Approximately half of the patients had T790M mutations, which involved a Del19 mutation in 55.6% of patients and an L858R mutation in 43.0%. Twenty-three patients (5.8%) had re-biopsy- associated complications, most commonly pneumothorax. Conclusions Success rate for re-biopsy in this study was approximately 80%. Our study sheds light on the re-biopsy status after disease progression in patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC. This information is important to improve the selection of patients who may benefit from third-generation TKIs.

Therapeutic strategies that target the tyrosine kinase MET hold promise for gastric cancer, but the mechanism underlying the antitumor activity of such strategies remains unclear. We examined the antitumor action of the MET tyrosine kinase inhibitor crizotinib (PF-02341066) in gastric cancer cells positive or negative for MET amplification. Inhibition of MET signaling by crizotinib or RNA interference–mediated MET depletion resulted in induction of apoptosis accompanied by inhibition of AKT and extracellular signal–regulated kinase phosphorylation in gastric cancer cells with MET amplification but not in those without it, suggesting that MET signaling is essential for the survival of MET amplification–positive cells. Crizotinib upregulated the expression of BIM, a proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, as well as downregulated that of survivin, X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), and c-IAP1, members of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, in cells with MET amplification. Forced depletion of BIM inhibited crizotinib-induced apoptosis, suggesting that upregulation of BIM contributes to the proapoptotic effect of crizotinib. Crizotinib also exhibited a marked antitumor effect in gastric cancer xenografts positive for MET amplification, whereas it had little effect on those negative for this genetic change. Crizotinib thus shows a marked antitumor action both in vitro and in vivo specifically in gastric cancer cells positive for MET amplification. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(7); 1557–64. ©2012 AACR.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to ascertain whether induction-concurrent radiotherapy added to chemotherapy could improve the survival of patients undergoing surgery for stage IIIA N2 nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Patients with pathologically proven N2 disease were randomized to receive either induction chemotherapy (docetaxel 60 mg/m2 and carboplatin AUC [area under the receiver operating characteristic curve] = 5 for 2 cycles) plus concurrent radiation therapy (40 Gy) followed by surgery (CRS arm) or induction chemotherapy followed by surgery (CS arm). They subsequently underwent pulmonary resection when possible. RESULTS: Sixty patients were randomly assigned between December 2000 and August 2005. The study was prematurely terminated in January 2006 because of slow accrual. The most common toxicity was grade 3 or 4 leukopenia in 92.9% of patients in the CRS arm and 46.4% in the CS arm. Induction therapy was generally well tolerated, and there were no treatment-related deaths in either arm. Downstaging in the CS arm and CRS arm was 21% and 40%, respectively. The progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the CS arm were 9.7 months and 29.9 months (PFS, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.68, P = .187), and those in the CRS arm were 12.4 months and 39.6 months (OS, HR = 0.77, P = .397), respectively. The PFS with and without downstaging was 55.0 and 9.4 months, respectively (HR = 3.39, P = .001). The OS with and without downstaging was 63.3 and 29.5 months, respectively (HR = 2.62, P = .021). CONCLUSIONS: The addition of radiotherapy to induction chemotherapy conferred better local control without significant adverse events. Tumor downstaging is important for prolonging the OS in patients with stage IIIA (N2) NSCLC. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.

Background Saracatinib (AZD0530) is a selective, oral Src inhibitor that has demonstrated antitumour activity in preclinical studies. Methods This open-label, dose-escalation, phase I study evaluated the safety and tolerability of saracatinib in Japanese patients with advanced solid tumours (clinicaltrials.gov NCT00704366). Patients received continuous once-daily oral dosing with saracatinib starting 7 days after a single dose in ascending dose cohorts until dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) or disease progression. Pharmacokinetics and efficacy were also evaluated. Results A total of 12 patients received saracatinib at doses of 50 (n = 3), 125 (n = 6), and 175 mg (n = 3). Median durations of exposure were 65, 44, and 16 days in the 50, 125, and 175 mg cohorts, respectively. The most common adverse events were diarrhoea (67 %), nausea (67 %), decreased appetite (58 %), lymphopenia (50 %) and pyrexia (50 %). The most common grade ≥3 adverse events were leukopenia, lymphopenia, neutropenia, and haemoglobin decreased (all 17 %). DLTs occurred in two patients, both in the 175 mg cohort: grade 3 aspartate aminotransferase increased with grade 3 gamma-glutamyltransferase increased (n = 1); and grade 3 hypoxia (n = 1). Following a single dose, saracatinib median tmax across the doses was 2–4 h, and thereafter plasma concentrations declined in a biphasic manner, with mean terminal half-life of approximately 45 h. Geometric mean saracatinib exposures were 0.8–2.1 times greater than those reported in Caucasian patients. The best response was stable disease (50 mg, n = 2; 125 mg, n = 1). Conclusions Saracatinib was tolerated in Japanese patients with advanced solid tumours at doses up to 125 mg.

We have previously been involved in a multicenter clinical study to predict the primary site of cancer of unknown primary site (CUP) for a site-specific therapy. Based on the microarray analysis of gene expression pattern, we not only predicted the primary site for each CUP patient but also extracted 44 up-regulated genes common to each CUP showing over 2.5-fold change compared to normal tissue (lymph node). To identify genes related to CUP development among these candidate genes, we performed cell-based siRNA screening and estimated to what extend A549 cells reduce the ability of migration, and found 4 genes, GRN, MIF, PRKDC, PSMB4. Konckdown of each of these genes suppressed metastasis of implanted cells from a footpad to a popliteal lymph node. Inhibitors for PRKDC (NU 7441) and PSMB4 (bortezomib) also suppressed the metastasis of parental A549 cells in vivo, suggesting the involvement of these genes in metastasis. As there is no standard treatment for CUP, drugs targeting immune checkpoints, such as PD-1 or IDO, may reveal promising antitumor activity for CUP. Recent studies suggest that expression levels of PD-L1 (a PD-1's ligand) or IDO may be a biomarker of patient response to anti-PD-1 or anti-IDO therapy, respectively. We analyzed the expression of PD-L1 and IDO for the CUP tissues and found several patients with high expression of either or both proteins who may be most likely respond to these novel immunotherapies. Citation Format: Yoshihiko Fujita, Kazuko Sakai, Marco De Velasco, Takayasu Kurata, Hidetoshi Hayashi, Kazuhiko Nakagawa, Kazuto Nishio. Novel target molecules for treatment of cancer of unknown primary [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5169.

Background: The premise that chemotherapy and immunotherapy may provide greater benefit than pembro or chemotherapy alone was supported by KEYNOTE-021 cohort G, in which pembro + pem + carboplatin significantly improved ORR and PFS over pem + carboplatin in patients (pts) with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC. We present results of the KEYNOTE-189 study of pembro + pem-platinum vs placebo + pem-platinum as first-line therapy for metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC. Methods: Pts with previously untreated stage IV nonsquamous NSCLC, no EGFR or ALK alteration, and ECOG PS 0-1 were randomized 2:1 to 4 Q3W cycles of pembro 200 mg or placebo + pem 500 mg/m2 + carboplatin AUC 5 or cisplatin 75 mg/m2 followed by maintenance pembro or placebo + pem. Randomization was stratified by PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS; Results: 616 pts were randomized: 410 to pembro + pem + platinum (“pembro arm”), 206 to placebo + pem + platinum (“placebo arm”). 76.5% of treated pts in the pembro arm and 66.8% in the placebo arm received ≥5 cycles of pem. 88.1% of enrolled pts were current/former smokers, carboplatin was chosen for 72.2%, and 63.0% had TPS ≥1%. As of Nov 8, 2017, median follow-up was 10.5 mo (range 0.2-20.4), and 33.8% in the pembro arm vs 17.8% in the placebo arm remained on treatment. In the placebo arm, 67 pts crossed over in-study to pembro and 18 received anti-PD-(L)1 therapy outside the study (effective crossover rate: 41.3% in the ITT population, 50.0% when pts still on treatment excluded). Pembro + pem + platinum, improved OS (HR 0.49; 95% CI 0.38-0.64; P < .00001) and PFS (HR 0.52; 95% CI 0.43-0.64; P < .00001) over placebo + pem + platinum. Median OS was not reached with pembro and was 11.3 mo with placebo. Median PFS was 8.8 mo vs 4.9 mo. OS benefit in the pembro arm was observed across subgroups, including all PD-L1 TPS categories (HR [95% CI] 0.59 [0.38-0.92] for Conclusions: Pembro + pem + platinum provided superior OS, PFS, and ORR compared with placebo + pem + platinum and had a manageable safety profile in pts with previously untreated metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC without EGFR or ALK alterations. These data suggest first-line pembro + pem and platinum may be a new standard of care for this population. Citation Format: Leena Gandhi, Delvys Rodgríguez-Abreu, Shirish Gadgeel, Emilio Esteban, Enriqueta Felip, Flávia De Angelis, Manuel Domine, Philip Clingan, Maximilian J Hochmair, Steven Powell, Susanna Yee-Shan Cheng, Helge G Bischoff, Nir Peled, Francesco Grossi, Ross R Jennens, Martin Reck, Rina Hui, Edward B Garon, Michael Boyer, Belén Rubio-Viqueira, Silvia Novello, Takayasu Kurata, Jhanelle E Gray, John J Vida, Ziwen Wei, Jing Yang, Harry Raftopoulos, M. Catherine Pietanza, Marina C Garassino. KEYNOTE-189: Randomized, double-blind, phase 3 study of pembrolizumab (pembro) or placebo plus pemetrexed (pem) and platinum as first-line therapy for metastatic NSCLC [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT075.

143 Background: Anti-PD-1 antibodies (Abs) have improved survival significantly in patients (pts) with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Depending on the extent of PD-L1 expression, these drugs have become the standard care of initial treatment and 2nd line therapy. However, PD-L1 expression has not yet been recognized as a robust biomarker. Currently, two Anti-PD-1 Abs (Nivolumab, Pembrolizumab) are commercially available in Japan, but have each diagnostic immunohistochemical (IHC) assays (22C3 and 28-8Ab), respectively. The concordance rate of these assays is not yet well understood and the effect of these agents in concordance and inconsistency cases are also unknown. Based on these background, we explored the concordance rate of 22C3 and 28-8 Ab and its relation with the effect of Nivolumab (Nivo). Methods: We investigated the concordance rate of 22C3 and 28-8 as well as treatment effect and response of 24 advanced NSCLC pts treated in Kansai Medical University Hospital from December 2015 and May 2017. All pts had been tumor biopsy for pathologically immunostained and received Nivo at least once. We compared the PD-L1 expression levels of two IHC assays with 22C3 and 28-8Ab measured in different laboratories independently. Results: Pts’ characteristics included adenocarcinoma in 12 pts, squamous cell carcinoma in 11, and others in 1 pts, respectively. In IHC reaction with 22C3Ab, 58.3% and 29.2% of pts expressed PD-L1 on ≥1% and ≥50% of tumor cells and with 28-8Ab, 37.5% and 16.7% of pts expressed PD-L1 on ≥1% and ≥50% of tumor cells, respectively. Of 24 cases, 1 case experienced CR, 5 cases PR. In CR case, expression level was dissociated at 50% with 22C3 and 5% with 28-8. In PR cases, 2 cases had high expression in both, and 2 cases had moderate expression in both assays. However, the remaining one was dissociated as moderate in 22C3 Ab and negative in 28-8. All PD pts expressed 0% with both of the two Abs. Conclusions: Although the number of cases is small, the concordance rate of the two Abs in advanced NSCLC cases is not necessarily high, but the agreement rate in response cases was likely to be high. As both 0% cases were ineffective, measuring with two Abs may be useful for forecasting invalid cases.

PurposeGefitinib is a small molecule inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase. We conducted a phase III trial to evaluate whether gefitinib improves survival as sequential therapy after platinum-doublet chemotherapy in patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Patients and MethodsChemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced stage (IIIB/IV) NSCLC, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 1, and adequate organ function were randomly assigned to either platinum-doublet chemotherapy up to six cycles (arm A) or platinum-doublet chemotherapy for three cycles followed by gefitinib 250 mg orally once daily, until disease progression (arm B). Patients were stratified by disease stage, sex, histology, and chemotherapy regimens. The primary end point was overall survival; secondary end points included progression-free survival, tumor response, safety, and quality of life.ResultsBetween March 2003 and May 2005, 604 patients were randomly assigned. There was a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival in arm B (hazard ratio [HR], 0.68; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.80; P < .001); however, overall survival results did not reach statistical significance (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.03; P = .11). In an exploratory subset analysis of overall survival by histologic group, patients in arm B with adenocarcinoma did significantly better than patients in arm A with adenocarcinoma (n = 467; HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.98; P = .03).ConclusionThis trial failed to meet the primary end point of OS in patients with NSCLC. The exploratory subset analyses demonstrate a possible survival prolongation for sequential therapy of gefitinib, especially for patients with adenocarcinoma.

The objective of this phase I/II study was to determine the recommended dose (RD) of S-1 and carboplatin (CBDCA), and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this combination in the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Chemotherapy-naïve patients were treated with S-1 given orally on days 1-14, and CBDCA infused intravenously on day 1, repeated every 3 weeks. RD was AUC5 of CBDCA and 80 mg/m(2) of S-1. Nineteen patients were treated at the RD. The overall response was 30.8% (95% confidence interval: 17.1-58.3%). The response rate in the RD was 36.8% (95% CI: 16.3-61.6%). The median overall survival time was 11.1 months (95% CI: 8.1-15.3 months) and the median progression-free survival time was 5.0 months (95% CI: 3.6-6.0 months). Major grades 3-4 toxicities were thrombocytopaenia (47%), anaemia (26%) and infection (16%). This is the first report to show promising activity of this combination in phase II, including survival data and manageable toxicity, especially in outpatients receiving treatment for advanced NSCLC.

Although the advancement of the chemotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer is remarkable in recent years, it is still unsatisfactory. Therefore, some new agents or a new treatment strategy for lung cancer is required. Amrubicin is a totally synthetic anthracycline anticancer drug that acts as a potent topoisomerase II inhibitor. Recently, amrubicin has been approved in Japan for the treatment of small- and non-small cell lung cancers and some clinical trials about amrubicin were conducted in Japan, and promising results have been reported for the treatment of small cell lung cancer in particular. The preclinical, pharmacology and clinical data of amrubicin for the treatment of advanced lung cancer are reviewed.

Summary Background The skeleton is one of the most common sites of metastasis in patients with advanced cancer. Bone metastases often cause SREs (skeletal-related events). Despite advances in the treatment of primary lung cancer, SREs still affect many patients. Therefore, we planned a retrospective study to investigate the clinical impact of SREs, and to compare differences in the therapeutic outcome between patients with and without skeletal metastases or SRE. Patients and methods We retrospectively investigated the charts of all 259 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who consulted the Department of Medical Oncology at Kinki University School of Medicine between February 2002 and January 2005. We assessed their TNM stage, presence of skeletal metastases (on bone scintigraphy, MRI, and plain X-ray films), and outcome parameters such as SREs, analgesic use, and survival. Results A total of 70 patients (30.4%) were found to have skeletal metastases during their clinical course and 35 patients (50%) out of all 70 patients had SREs. Among 135 stage IV patients, a total of 56 (41%) had skeletal metastases, and 25 of these 56 patients (45%) had SREs. The most common SREs were the need for radiotherapy (34.3%) and hypercalcemia (20%). Patients with SREs tended to have worse survival, while no significant difference of survival was observed between patients with and without skeletal metastases. Conclusion It seems to be important to prevent SREs during the treatment of NSCLC, so further studies evaluating bisphosphonates in combination with chemotherapy are warranted.

Amrubicin is a totally synthetic anthracycline anticancer drug and a potent topoisomerase II inhibitor. Recently, amrubicin was approved in Japan for the treatment of small- and non-small-cell lung cancers (SCLC and NSCLC). Here, we review the efficacy and toxicities of amrubicin monotherapy and amrubicin in combination with cisplatin for extensive-disease SCLC (ED-SCLC), and of amrubicin monotherapy for advanced NSCLC, as observed in the clinical trials. Recommended dosage for previously untreated advanced NCSLC was 45 mg/m2/day by intravenous administration for 3 days. Dose-limiting toxicities were leucopenia, thrombocytopenia, and gastrointestinal disturbance. Response rate was 27.9% for advanced NSCLC, and 75.8% for ED-SCLC with a median survival time (MST) of 11.7 months. Recommended dosage of amrubicin was 40 mg/m2/day in combination with cisplatin at 60 mg/m2/day, with MST of 13.6 months and 1-year survival rate of 56.1%. In sensitive or refractory relapsed SCLC, response rate was 52 and 50%, progression-free survival was 4.2 and 2.6 months, overall survival was 11.6 and 10.3 months, and 1-year survival rate was 46 and 40%, respectively. These results are promising for the treatment of both NSCLC and SCLC. Further clinical trials will clarify the status of amrubicin in the treatment of lung cancer.

Background. Univariate analyses from several randomized phase III trials seemed to suggest ever-smokers with advanced mutated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) did not seem to benefit from EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as first-line treatment when compared with platinum-doublet chemotherapy as measured by progression-free survival (PFS). Methods. A literature-based meta-analysis of PFS outcomes as measured by log-transformed pooled hazard ratio (HR) was performed using a random-effect model. Pooled HRs for smoking status, age, gender, ethnicity, type of EGFR mutation, and EGFR TKI were obtained. Comparison of the pooled HR was performed by metaregression analysis. Results. Among the 1,649 EGFRm NSCLC patients analyzed from 7 prospective randomized trials (WJTOG3405, NEJ002, EURTAC, OPTIMAL, LUX Lung-3, LUX Lung-6, and ENSURE), 83.7% were Asians, and 30.0% were ever-smokers. An equal percentage of ever-smokers received doublet chemotherapy (30.2%) or EGFR TKI (30.0%). The pooled HR for PFS was 0.29 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.21–0.39) for never-smokers and 0.54 (95% CI: 0.38–0.76) for ever-smokers (p < .007 by metaregression). The pooled PFS HR for exon 19 deletion was 0.25 (95% CI: 0.19–0.31) and 0.44 for exon 21 substitution (95% CI: 0.34–0.57) (p < .001 by metaregression analysis). The pooled PFS HR was 0.33 (95% CI: 0.24–0.46) for Asians and 0.48 for non-Asians (95% CI: 0.28–0.84) (p = .261 by metaregression analysis). Conclusion. EGFRm NSCLC patients derived significant PFS benefit from TKI over platinum-doublet chemotherapy as first-line treatment regardless of smoking status; however, PFS benefit is significantly better in never-smokers by metaregression analysis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the maximum tolerated doses, dose-limiting toxicities, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic profiles in the combination of irinotecan and paclitaxel. Eligibility criteria included age 75 years or younger, good performance status, adequate organ function, and unresectable non–small cell or extensive disease of small cell lung cancer. Irinotecan was administered on days 1 and 8 over 90 minutes, and paclitaxel was administered on day 8 over 3 hours after 90 minutes from the end of the irinotecan infusion. Irinotecan and paclitaxel were dose-escalated from 40 and 135 mg/m 2 and repeated every 4 weeks. The authors also administered a higher dosage with preventive granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support from day 9. Thirty-one patients were assessed for toxicities and responses. Dose-limiting toxicities were neutropenia and febrile neutropenia. The dose of irinotecan 60 mg/m 2 and paclitaxel 200 mg/m 2 with preventive granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support was tolerable and suitable for a phase II trial. Nine of 25 (36%) patients with non–small cell and all six patients with small cell carcinoma achieved partial response. The areas under the concentration versus time curves of irinotecan and its metabolites on day 8 were significantly higher than on day 1. This combination therapy must be planned only after careful consideration of the drug–drug interaction.

A combination Phase I study of gemcitabine and irinotecan in patients with previously untreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer was conducted. Patients received gemcitabine and irinotecan on Days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks. A total of 11 patients were enrolled. Three of six patients who received the starting dose (gemcitabine, 800 mg/m(2); irinotecan, 80 mg/m(2)) experienced dose-limiting toxicities (Grade 4 neutropenia, Grade 3 elevation of transaminase and Grade 5 interstitial pneumonia). At the reduced dose level (gemcitabine, 800 mg/m(2); irinotecan, 60 mg/m(2)), all two assessable patients could not meet the administration criteria of Day 8 (one, Grade 2 elevation of transaminase; the other, Grade 1 diarrhea). No objective response was observed in eight evaluable patients. We could not determine the recommended dose of this combination because of intolerable toxicities and no efficacy. Therefore, it is difficult to forward this combination chemotherapy toward further studies.

PURPOSE: RPR 109881A is a new semisynthetic taxoid compound that has a similar mechanism of action to docetaxel. The purpose of this phase I study was to characterize the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), toxicity profile, pharmacokinetic profile, and antitumor effects of this agent. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nineteen eligible patients with advanced solid tumors were enrolled. RPR 109881A was administered as a 1-hour intravenous infusion every 3 weeks at doses ranging from 15 to 75 mg/m2. Pharmacokinetic evaluation was performed at the first cycle. RESULTS: Neutropenia (febrile neutropenia) and fatigue were dose-limiting toxicities at doses of 60 and 75 mg/m2 and seemed to be dose-related. Both thrombocytopenia and anemia were infrequent. Nonhematologic toxicities were generally mild. Pharmacokinetic studies indicated that RPR 109881A plasma disposition was bi- or triphasic, with a high total plasma clearance, a large volume of distribution, and a long terminal half-life. The area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) and the peak concentration of RPR 109881A seemed to increase with increasing dose proportionally, suggesting linear pharmacokinetics. Urinary excretion over 48 hours was low, with a mean of 0.8 ± 0.36% of the administered dose. A significant relationship existed between the percentage decrease of neutrophil counts and the AUC of RPR 109881A. Among 18 assessable patients, two partial and two minor responses were documented. CONCLUSION: RPR 109881A was found to be a well-tolerated and promising taxoid agent. The MTD was 75 mg/m2, and the recommended dose for phase II study was 60 mg/m2 as a 1-hour infusion every 3 weeks.

BACKGROUND Bis-acetato-ammine-dichloro-cyclohexylamine-platinum(IV) (JM216) is the first orally given platinum complex that shows in vitro cytotoxicity comparable to that of cisplatin and in vivo cytotoxicity superior to those of cisplatin and carboplatin. METHODS We conducted an escalating-dose (50, 75, 100, 120 mg/m2) phase I study of JM216 administered orally once a day for five consecutive days in patients with solid tumors to establish the toxicity profile, maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and pharmacokinetic profile. Twenty-three patients were enrolled and all were assessable for toxicity. RESULTS The MTD was 120 mg/m2/day and the dose-limiting toxicities were leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia and diarrhea. Because of the delayed hematological toxicities, it was difficult to repeat cycles every 26 days in some patients. Tumor shrinkage was observed in two patients with breast cancer, both of whom were resistant to doxorubicin. A pharmacokinetic study showed that the areas under the concentration-time curve (AUC) and peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) for total platinum (Pt) on days 1 and 5 and ultrafiltered Pt (UF-Pt) on day 1 increased in proportion to the dose of JM216. The AUCs for both total and UF-Pt on day 5 were higher than the AUCs on day 1. The AUC for UF-Pt on day 5 showed the best correlation with percentage reduction in leukocyte count and in absolute neutrophil count. CONCLUSION The recommended dose for phase II studies is 100 mg/m2/day every 4-6 weeks. The observation of tumor shrinkage in previously heavily treated breast cancer patients supports a phase II investigation.

Glucose uptake is mediated by members of the facilitative glucose transporter (GLUT) family. Malignant cells take up more glucose than their normal counterparts. The aim of this study was to investigate the gene expression levels of the GLUT family, especially GLUT1, GLUT3, and GLUT5 in primary lung cancer, metastatic liver tumors, and normal lung tissues, and to compare the expression levels of primary and metastatic tumors with those of normal tissues. We analyzed 105 autopsy samples (35 primary lung tumors, 35 corresponding normal lung tissues, 25 normal liver tissues, and 10 metastatic liver tumors) from 35 patients using the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The GLUT1 gene expression levels in primary lung tumors were significantly higher than those in normal lung tissues. In liver metastatic lesions, the GLUT3 and GLUT5 gene expression levels were significantly higher than those in primary lung tumors, but there were no differences in GLUT1 expression levels between primary and metastatic liver tumors. Our results show that the gene expression pattern of the GLUT family is different between primary and metastatic liver tumors and suggest that the energy transporters in metastatic tumors may be different from those in primary tumors.