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Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly malignant tumor, and no standard third-line therapy has been established. The present study retrospectively analyzed the efficacy and safety of platinum-based regimens in patients with third-line SCLC who received third-line chemotherapy. The association of regimen type with overall survival (OS) or time to treatment failure (TTF) was evaluated using the Cox hazard proportional method, including well-known covariates affecting the prognosis of SCLC. TTF and OS analyses were conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method. The data cutoff date was June 30, 2020. As a result, from January 2015 to August 2019, 111 patients were diagnosed with SCLC, and 37 received third-line chemotherapy. Subsequently, 15 patients received a platinum-doublet regimen, and 22 patients received a single-agent regimen. Only the type of regimen was significantly associated with TTF in univariate analysis (odds ratio, 0.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.20-0.95; P=0.03). There were no significant factors associated with OS. The median TTF of patients receiving a platinum-doublet regimen and those receiving a single-agent regimen were 3.9 and 2.3 months, respectively (P=0.03). The overall response rates of the platinum-doublet and single-agent regimens were 20.0 and 4.5%, respectively. Similarly, the disease control rates were 73.3 and 36.4% for platinum-doublet and single-agent regimens, respectively. There was a tendency for adverse events (AEs) with any grade to occur more often in platinum-based regimens compared with in single-agent regimens. Severe AEs of grade 3 or higher were observed more often in the platinum-based regimen, especially in myelosuppression. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated the feasibility and safety of platinum-doublet regimens in patients with SCLC in a third-line setting (Registration no. 2020-048. Date of registration, June 5, 2020).

Afatinib, a second-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), was approved in Japan in 2014. This study evaluated clinical outcomes of afatinib in real-world practice. Medical records of patients who received afatinib for advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC were retrospectively reviewed. In total, 128 patients were analyzed. Seventy-six patients received afatinib as the first-line setting and 52 as the re-challenge setting (i.e., after failure of prior first-generation TKI). There was no difference in patient characteristics, such as age, sex, and PS, between the first-line and the re-challenge settings. In the first-line setting, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 17.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 13.7-21.5 months). The overall survival (OS) was 39.5 months (95% CI 34.4- not reached). The response rate (RR) was 64.4%. Subset analysis indicated that patients with dose reduction showed longer PFS than those without dose reduction (18.5 months versus 7.9 months) (P = 0.016). In the re-challenge setting, the median PFS was 8.0 months (95% CI 4.9-9.5 months). The RR was 25%. Most common adverse events leading to dose modification or treatment discontinuation included diarrhea, paronychia, and oral mucositis in both settings. Interstitial lung disease occurred in 5.4% (7/128). In the real-world practice in Japan, afatinib showed comparable or better efficacy compared with that shown in previous clinical trials in both the first-line and the re-challenge settings.

Patients with cancer suffer a wide range of physical symptoms coupled with psychological stress. Moreover, cancer chemotherapy induces immunosuppression and consequently causes respiratory infections. Massage therapy has been reported to reduce symptoms in cancer patients via an increase in psychosocial relaxation and to enhance and/or improve immune function.In the present study, we determined whether leg massage could induce psychosocial relaxation and activate the first line of the host defense system. To assess effects of rest and leg massage, 15 healthy volunteers rested on a bed for 20 min on the first day, and 3 days later the subjects received a standardized massage of the legs for 20 min with nonaromatic oil. Twenty-nine cancer patients also received the same standardized massage of the legs. Anxiety/stress was assessed before and just after the rest or the massage using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-s) and visual analogue scale (VAS). To evaluate oral immune function, salivary chromogranin A (CgA) and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels were measured.In healthy volunteers, rest significantly reduced VAS by 34% and increased sIgA by 61%. In contrast, leg massage significantly reduced both STAI-s and VAS by 24% and 63%, and increased both sIgA and CgA by 104% and 90%, respectively. In cancer patients, leg massage significantly decreased both STAI-s and VAS by 16% and 38%, and increased both salivary CgA and sIgA by 33% and 35%, respectively.Leg massage may promote psychosocial relaxation and reinforce a first-line host defense with an increase in secretion of antimicrobial peptides.

e21173Background: Afatinib is the second generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) - tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and approved in Japan in...

Objective To clarify the clinical significance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in Japanese patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC).Materials and Methods We measured serum VEGF levels using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 45 patients with SCLC before treatment and in 38 patients with benign pulmonary disease and in 32 healthy subjects (71 non-malignant subjects). VEGF immunostaining was performed in tissue biopsies obtained from 23 SCLC patients during bronchoscopic examination.Results Median serum VEGF level was 332 pg/ml in patients with SCLC and 160 pg/ml in non-malignant subjects, respectively. The 95% cut-off level to exclude non-malignant subjects was 500 pg/ml. An elevated VEGF level (>500 pg/ml) was found more frequently in patients with extensive disease of SCLC than in those with the limited disease (p

The purpose of this study was to determine the safety and efficacy of nedaplatin and paclitaxel when given concurrently with radiation therapy (RT) for locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Nedaplatin was administered at a fixed dose of 20 mg/m(2), and paclitaxel was administered at a starting dose of 30 mg/m(2) with an incremental increase of 5 mg/m(2) until dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) occurred in more than one-third of the patients. The chemotherapy was administered once a week for 6 weeks. The RT was given at a single daily dose of 2 Gy for 5 days per week. The pharmacokinetics of nedaplatin and paclitaxel were investigated.Overall, 20 patients were recruited and assigned to three different treatment groups: group 1 (paclitaxel 30 mg/m(2)), group 2 (paclitaxel 35 mg/m(2)) and group 3 (paclitaxel 40 mg/m(2)). Pulmonary toxicity was the main toxicity which occurred in 16 of 20 patients. In group 3, grades 3 and 4 pulmonary toxicity occurred in two of six patients and grade 3 esophagitis in one patient. The maximum tolerated dose of paclitaxel in this study was 40 mg/m(2) and the recommended dose of paclitaxel was therefore 35 mg/m(2). Four complete and 11 partial responses were observed, resulting in a 75% overall response rate. The area under the concentration-time curve of paclitaxel in group 3 was significantly higher than that in group 1.Nedaplatin 20 mg/m(2) and paclitaxel 35 mg/m(2) could be safely administered for NSCLC with concurrent thoracic RT, and this regimen was effective. The most important DLT was pulmonary toxicity.

Objectives Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors are particularly effective in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring active EGFR mutations. However, some studies have reported survival benefits in NSCLC patients with wild-type EGFR upon erlotinib treatment. This trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of erlotinib monotherapy and investigate the predictive values of several biomarkers. Patients and methods Patients with previously treated NSCLC but without EGFR gene mutations that had never or light smoked were eligible for this study. Gene status screening was performed using the PNA-LNA PCR clamp method. Erlotinib was administered until disease progression or unacceptable toxicities occurred. EGFR gene status was re-evaluated using the fragment method to detect exon 19 deletions and the Cycleave-PCR method to detect point mutations. Expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), Met, and thymidylate synthase (TS) were evaluated using immunohistochemistry. Results Forty-seven patients were enrolled in the study between March 2010 and November 2011. Objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 15.2% and 41.3%. Re-evaluations for EGFR gene were performed in 32 tumor samples. EGFR gene mutations were found in eight samples (5:exon 19 deletion, 2:G719X, 1:L858R). Six patients had PR and two had SD among these eight patients. A total of 24 patients were confirmed as wild-type EGFR using different methods. ORR and DCR were 4.2% and 41.7%. The median progression free survival (PFS) and median survival times were 2.0 and 6.0 months, respectively. Patients with tumors expressing HGF showed shorter PFS but not MET or TS. Conclusions Re-examination of EGFR gene status using different detecting method or different sample should be considered to grasp a chance of erlotinib treatment after first line treatment. In confirmed EGFR wild NSCLC, negative HGF staining could be a biomarker for longer PFS by erlotonib treatment.

Background Amrubicin (AMR), a new anthracycline agent, has shown promising results for advanced small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), although the efficacy of AMR alone against refractory relapsed SCLC is insufficient. This study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of AMR and carboplatin (CBDCA) in patients with refractory relapsed SCLC. Methods Patients with advanced SCLC who relapsed within 90 days after the completion of first-line chemotherapy received AMR (30mg/m 2 , days 1–3) and CBDCA (area under the curve 4.0mgmL −1 min −1 , day 1) every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint of this study was the overall response rate (ORR), and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival, and the toxicity profile. Assuming that an ORR of 45% in eligible patients would indicate potential usefulness and an ORR of 20% would be the lower limit of interest, with α =0.10 and β =0.10, at least 24 patients were required. Results Among 29 eligible patients, the ORR was 34% (90% confidence interval, 20–48). The median PFS was 3.5 months, whereas the median survival time was 7.3 months. The most common grade 3–4 toxicity was neutropenia (79%), although only one patient (3%) suffered from febrile neutropenia. Non-hematological toxicities were of moderate severity and no treatment-related death was observed. Conclusions This is the first prospective study of AMR combined with CBDCA for refractory relapsed SCLC, which was effective and well tolerated. However, further investigation of this regimen is warranted.

Objectives: We conducted a phase II study to evaluate the combination of bi-weekly docetaxel and S-1, a novel oral fluorouracil derivative, for patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: Patients received S-1 on days 1-14 and docetaxel on days 1 and 15 of each 28-day cycle. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR). Results: We enrolled 35 pts from 7 institutions (Feb. 2007-Sep. 2008). Patient characteristics: male/female, 23/12; median age, 64 years; and PS, 0/1 (17/18). The ORR was 26% (95% confidence interval, 11-40). The median progression-free survival was 4.1 months and the median overall survival was 16.3 months. Hematologic grade 3/4 toxicity included neutropenia (31%) and anemia (11%). Major non-hematologic grade 3 toxicity included diarrhea (17%). Conclusions: The combination of S-1 and bi-weekly docetaxel is an active regimen with a tolerable toxicity for previously treated NSCLC. Further evaluation of this regimen is warranted.

The patient was a 36-year-old male. He visited our department in February 2004 as a prior chest X-ray revealed multiple nodular shadows. After further examinations, he was diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma of the lung. As treatment, 5 courses of carboplatin (CBDCA)+docetaxel (DOC), 3 courses of CBDCA+gemcitabine (GEM), 6 weeks of gefitinib, and 3 courses of GEM were administered. However, the tumor progressed, and S-1 (120 mg/day, 2 weeks on, 1 week off) was administered as the sixth regimen from May 2006. No severe side effects were observed, and an antitumor action was achieved over a relatively long period. Therefore, it was suggested that a single administration of S-1 for non-small cell lung cancer, which had been treated with other multiple regimens, is safe, and long-term control of the disease can be expected.

To clarify the reason why central fibrosis (CF) is an important histological prognostic factor in small adenocarcinoma (SA) of the lung, tumor tissues from 50 patients with SA < or = 2 cm in diameter were investigated using immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization analysis for factors relating to extracellular matrix and vessels. CF was observed in 33/50 cases (66%). In adenocarcinoma areas, positive activity was observed with both primary antibodies and probes for matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in 11/50 patients (22%), membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) in 39/50 patients (78%) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) in 49/50 patients (98%). In CF areas, the positive activity of fibroblastic cells was seen for only TIMP-2 in 32/33 patients (97%). In CF areas, both CD34-positive (blood and lymphatic) vessels and D2-40-positive lymphatic vessels were semiquantitatively increased in 16/33 patients (48.5%) by immunohistochemistry. Tumors with increased vessel density were associated with statistically lower disease-free survival curves compared with tumors without increased vessels. Lymphatic vessels in some CF showed intravasation by carcinoma cells. In conclusion, CF could be an important histological prognostic factor in SA chiefly because of its association with angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.

Summary Background Diagnosing tuberculous pleural effusion (pTB) is often difficult because the culturing of tubercle bacilli results in a negative test in the majority of cases. Serological tests for the detection of antibodies to tuberculous glycolipid (TBGL) and lipoarabinomannan (LAM) have been introduced for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. We examined the levels of these antibodies, adenosine deaminase (ADA) and interferon- γ (IFN- γ ) in the pleural effusion and compared their diagnostic values in pTB. Methods We studied 65 patients with pleural effusion. Of those, 19 patients were diagnosed as having pTB according to our broad case definition. The etiologies in the other 46 patients were malignant effusion, transdative effusion and miscellaneous diseases. Determiner TBGL antibody ® (D-TBGL-Ab) and MycoDot ® were used for the detection of anti-LAM and anti-TBGL antibodies, respectively, in the pleural effusion. Results The sensitivity of ADA was 78.9% (15/19) and the specificity 97.8% (45/46). The sensitivity of IFN- γ was 84.2% (16/19) and the specificity 93.5% (43/46). The sensitivities of D-TBGL-Ab and MycoDot ® were both 52.6% (10/19) and their specificities were 95.7% (44/46) and 97.8% (45/46), respectively. When DTBGL-Ab (cutoff point: 2.0U/ml) and ADA activity (cutoff point: 57IU/l) were combined, the sensitivity was 94.7% (18/19) and the specificity 93.5% (43/46). Conclusions In the diagnosis of pTB, D-TBGL-Ab and MycoDot ® each have low sensitivity but high specificity. When D-TBGL-Ab is used in combination with ADA, the sensitivity and specificity are both >90%. We conclude that D-TBGL-Ab and ADA in combination are useful in the diagnosis of pTB.

Background Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have demonstrated good response in NSCLC harboring EGFR gene mutation. However, survival benefit from erlotinib was observed also in NSCLC patients with wild-type (wt) EGFR gene in subsets of several phase III trials. Additionally, smoking status could be a predictive factor of erlotinib efficacy. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of erlotinib in Japanese NSCLC patients with wt-EGFR and find a biomarker that predicts the efficacy of erlotinib other than EGFR gene mutation. Methods The primary end point was an objective response rate. Secondary end points included disease control rate, overall survival, safety and a biomarker finding. Advanced NSCLC patients without EGFR gene mutation who had received one to three prior chemotherapy regimens and who had never smoked or light smoked (smoking index: Results Forty-seven patients were enrolled between March 2010 and November 2011. One patient was excluded for evaluation because having mutation of EGFR. Efficacy and safety were evaluated among 46 patients. Best responses were: PR 7 (15.2%), SD 12 (26.1%), PD 26 (46.4%), NE 1 (2.2%). Response rate and disease control rate were 15.2% (95% CI: 4.9–25.5%) and 41.3 % (95% CI 27.1–55.5%), respectively. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events were anorexia (4), skin rash (2), neutropenia (1), leukopenia (1), anemia (2), elevation of AST/ALT (1), rectal ulcer (1) and cerebral infarction (1).Two patients suffered grade 3 interstitial lung disease. Conclusion This is the first report to evaluate Erlotinib efficacy in selected NSCLC who do not possess EGFR gene mutation. Erlotinib showed significant anti-tumor activity in pretreated never or light smoked Japanese NSCLC patients without EGFR gene mutation.

Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinomas are very rare in the lung, and little is known about the relationship of their histologic features to prognosis. We describe five primary pulmonary epithelial-myoepithelial carcinomas with details on clinical presentation, histology, and immunohistochemical profiles. We also reviewed the literature to detail further their prognosis. The patients' ages ranged from 33 to 57 years (average 51 years). The tumors were all endobronchial and the patients presented with symptoms or imaging features of airway obstruction. The tumors were completely resected; none showed nodal involvement. All five patients are alive and free of disease 4 months to 8 years (average 4.2 years) after surgery. Four tumors showed a mixed pattern of glands lined by a dual layer of cells and solid sheets of either spindle cells or clear cells, the glandular and solid components being present in variable proportions. The fifth tumor comprised purely spindle cells. The mitotic rate was

7561 Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have demonstrated good response in NSCLC harboring EGFR gene mutation. However, survival benefit from erlotinib was observed also in NSCLC patients with wild type (wt) EGFR gene in subsets of several phase III trials. Additionally, smoking status could be a predictive factor of erlotinib efficacy, This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of erlotinib in Japanese NSCLC patients with wt-EGFR and find a biomarker that predicts the efficacy of erlotinib other than EGFR gene mutation. Methods: The primary endpoint was an objective response rate. Secondary endpoints included disease control rate, overall survival, and safety. Advanced NSCLC patients without EGFR gene mutation who had received one to three prior chemotherapy regimens and who had never smoked or light smoked (Brinkman Index: less than200) were eligible in this study. EGFR gene status was evaluated by the PNA-LNA PCR clamp method. Erlotinib was administered daily (150mg/day) until disease progression or unacceptable toxicities. Results: Forty seven patients were enrolled between March 2010 and November 2011. One patient was excluded for evaluation because having mutation of EGFR. Efficacy and safety were evaluated among 46 patients. Best responses were PR 7 (15.2%), SD 12 (26.1%), PD 26 (46.4%), NE 1 (2.2%). Response rate and disease control rate were 15.2% (95%CI: 4.9-25.5%) and 41.3 % (95%CI 27.1-55.5%) respectively. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events were anorexia (4), skin rash (2), neutropenia (1), leukopenia (1), anemia (2), elevation of AST/ALT (1), rectal ulcer (1), and cerebral infarction (1).Two patients suffered grade 3 interstitial lung disease. Conclusions: This is the first report to evaluate Erlotinib efficacy in selected NSCLC who do not possess EGFR gene mutation. Erlotinib showed significant anti-tumor activity in pretreated never or light smoked Japanese NSCLC patients without EGFR gene mutation. The results of biomakr analysis will be presented at the meeting.

7086 Background: AMR, a new anthracycline agent, has achieved some promising results for advanced SCLC both in the first-line and the second-line setting. However the efficacy of AMR alone against refractory relapsed SCLC was relatively low in previous studies. This study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of AMR plus CBDCA in patients with refractory relapsed SCLC. Methods: Patients with advanced SCLC who relapsed within 90 days after the completion of first-line chemotherapy received AMR (30 mg/m2, day1-3) and CBDCA (AUC 4.0, day 1) every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint of this study was overall response rate (ORR), and secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival and toxicity profile. Assuming that ORR of 45% in eligible patients would indicate potential usefulness while ORR of 20% would be the lower limit of interest, with alpha = 0.10 and beta = 0.10, at least 24 patients were required. Results: From September 2008 to May 2011, 30 patients were enrolled from 10 institutions. One patient was excluded because of ineligible histology. Patient characteristics were: Male/Female 26/3; median age 67 (range 50-81); Performance status 0/1/2 9/16/4. The median number of treatment cycles were 4 (range 1-7). The objective responses evaluated by RECIST were: CR 0, PR 10, SD 14, PD 5. The ORR was 34% and the disease control rate was 83%. Median PFS was 3.5 months and median survival time was 7.3 months. Grade 3-4 neutropenia was observed in 23 patients (79%) and grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia was observed in 7 patients (24%). One patient (3%) suffered from grade 3-4 febrile neutropenia. Other grade 3 non-hematological toxicities such as infection, interstitial lung disease, hyponatremia, hypoglycemia, were observed in 7 patients (24%). No treatment related death was observed. Conclusions: This is the first prospective study of AMR combined with CBDCA for refractory relapsed SCLC, which was effective and well tolerated. Further investigation of this treatment is warranted.

7604 Background: S-1, a novel oral fluorouracil derivative, is active against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A preclinical study showed the synergistic effect of docetaxel and S-1 in vivo. On ...

7333 Background: The purpose of this study was to determine maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of a combination of GEM plus CBDCA administration on a biweekly schedule for inoperable NSCLC, and to assess...

7237 Background: The purpose of this study was to determine maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and the dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of a combination of gemcitabine plus carboplatin administration in a bi...