Erlotinib versus vinorelbine plus cisplatin as adjuvant therapy in Chinese patients with stage IIIA EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (EVAN): a randomised, open-label, phase 2 trial.

Adjuvant chemotherapy after radical resection of stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has quite poor outcomes. We aimed to investigate whether adjuvant erlotinib therapy improves 2-year disease-free survival compared with chemotherapy in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive stage IIIA NSCLC. In this randomised, open-label, phase 2 trial, eligible patients aged 18-75 years who had undergone complete (R0) resection of histologically or pathologically confirmed stage IIIA EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC and had not received any previous anticancer therapies were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either adjuvant erlotinib (150 mg once daily administered orally) or vinorelbine and cisplatin chemotherapy (four cycles of vinorelbine [25 mg/m2 intravenously on days 1 and 8 of each 21-day cycle] plus cisplatin [75 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1 of each 21-day cycle]). Randomisation was done by Simon's minimisation with a random element and was stratified by EGFR activating mutation type (exon 19 vs 21), histology (adenocarcinoma vs non-adenocarcinoma), and smoking status (smoker vs non-smoker). The primary endpoint in the unblinded intention-to-treat analysis was 2-year disease-free survival. This ongoing study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01683175. Between Sept 8, 2012, and May 21, 2015, 102 patients from 16 centres across China were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive erlotinib (n=51) or chemotherapy (n=51). Median follow-up was 33·0 months (IQR 17·8-43·1). 2-year disease-free survival was 81·4% (95% CI 69·6-93·1) in the erlotinib group and 44·6% (26·9-62·4) in the chemotherapy group (relative risk 1·823 [95% CI 1·194-2·784; p=0·0054). The difference in 2-year disease-free survival between the groups was 36·7% (95% CI 15·5-58·0; p=0·0007). Adverse events of any grade occurred in 29 (58%) of 50 patients in the erlotinib group and 28 (65%) of 43 patients in the chemotherapy group. Grade 3 or worse adverse events occurred in six (12%) of 50 patients in the erlotinib group versus 11 (26%) of 43 in the chemotherapy group; the most common of these in the erlotinib group was rash (in two [4%] of 50 patients) and in the chemotherapy group were decreased neutrophil count (in seven [16%] of 43 patients) and myelosuppression (in four [9%]). No treatment-related deaths were reported. Adjuvant erlotinib improved 2-year disease-free survival in patients with EGFR mutation-positive stage IIIA NSCLC compared with chemotherapy, with a better tolerability profile. This study suggests that tyrosine kinase inhibitors could have a potentially important role as adjuvant therapy in EGFR mutation-positive stage IIIA NSCLC. However, this trial was a phase 2 study. Mature overall survival data are also needed. Ongoing studies will hopefully confirm the role of adjuvant EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in patients with NSCLC. National Key Research and Development Program of China and Shanghai Roche Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Yue D ，Xu S ，Wang Q ，Li X ，Shen Y ，Zhao H ，Chen C ，Mao W ，Liu W ，Liu J ，Zhang L ，Ma H ，Li Q ，Yang Y ，Liu Y ，Chen H ，Wang C ... -  《-》

Gefitinib versus vinorelbine plus cisplatin as adjuvant treatment for stage II-IIIA (N1-N2) EGFR-mutant NSCLC (ADJUVANT/CTONG1104): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study.

Cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy is the standard of care for patients with resected stage II-IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). RADIANT and SELECT trial data suggest patients with EGFR-mutant stage IB-IIIA resected NSCLC could benefit from adjuvant EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment. We aimed to compare the efficacy of adjuvant gefitinib versus vinorelbine plus cisplatin in patients with completely resected EGFR-mutant stage II-IIIA (N1-N2) NSCLC. We did a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial at 27 centres in China. We enrolled patients aged 18-75 years with completely resected (R0), stage II-IIIA (N1-N2), EGFR-mutant (exon 19 deletion or exon 21 Leu858Arg) NSCLC. Patients were stratified by N stage and EGFR mutation status and randomised (1:1) by Pocock and Simon minimisation with a random element to either gefitinib (250 mg once daily) for 24 months or intravenous vinorelbine (25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8) plus intravenous cisplatin (75 mg/m2 on day 1) every 3 weeks for four cycles. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival in the intention-to-treat population, which comprised all randomised patients; the safety population included all randomised patients who received at least one dose of study medication. Enrolment to the study is closed but survival follow-up is ongoing. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01405079. Between Sept 19, 2011, and April 24, 2014, 483 patients were screened and 222 patients were randomised, 111 to gefitinib and 111 to vinorelbine plus cisplatin. Median follow-up was 36·5 months (IQR 23·8-44·8). Median disease-free survival was significantly longer with gefitinib (28·7 months [95% CI 24·9-32·5]) than with vinorelbine plus cisplatin (18·0 months [13·6-22·3]; hazard ratio [HR] 0·60, 95% CI 0·42-0·87; p=0·0054). In the safety population, the most commonly reported grade 3 or worse adverse events in the gefitinib group (n=106) were raised alanine aminotransferase and asparate aminotransferase (two [2%] patients with each event vs none with vinorelbine plus cisplatin). In the vinorelbine plus cisplatin group (n=87), the most frequently reported grade 3 or worse adverse events were neutropenia (30 [34%] patients vs none with gefitinib), leucopenia (14 [16%] vs none), and vomiting (eight [9%] vs none). Serious adverse events were reported for seven (7%) patients who received gefitinib and 20 (23%) patients who received vinorelbine plus cisplatin. No interstitial lung disease was noted with gefitinib. No deaths were treatment related. Adjuvant gefitinib led to significantly longer disease-free survival compared with that for vinorelbine plus cisplatin in patients with completely resected stage II-IIIA (N1-N2) EGFR-mutant NSCLC. Based on the superior disease-free survival, reduced toxicity, and improved quality of life, adjuvant gefitinib could be a potential treatment option compared with adjuvant chemotherapy in these patients. However, the duration of benefit with gefitinib after 24 months might be limited and overall survival data are not yet mature. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Translational Medicine; National Health and Family Planning Commission of People's Republic of China; Guangzhou Science and Technology Bureau; AstraZeneca China.

Zhong WZ ，Wang Q ，Mao WM ，Xu ST ，Wu L ，Shen Y ，Liu YY ，Chen C ，Cheng Y ，Xu L ，Wang J ，Fei K ，Li XF ，Li J ，Huang C ，Liu ZD ，Xu S ，Chen KN ，Xu SD ，Liu LX ，Yu P ，Wang BH ，Ma HT ，Yan HH ，Yang XN ，Zhou Q ，Wu YL ，ADJUVANT investigators ... -  《-》

Erlotinib plus bevacizumab versus erlotinib alone in patients with EGFR-positive advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NEJ026): interim analysis of an open-label, randomised, multicentre, phase 3 trial.

Resistance to first-generation or second-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) monotherapy develops in almost half of patients with EGFR-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after 1 year of treatment. The JO25567 phase 2 trial comparing erlotinib plus bevacizumab combination therapy with erlotinib monotherapy established the activity and manageable toxicity of erlotinib plus bevacizumab in patients with NSCLC. We did a phase 3 trial to validate the results of the JO25567 study and report here the results from the preplanned interim analysis. In this prespecified interim analysis of the randomised, open-label, phase 3 NEJ026 trial, we recruited patients with stage IIIB-IV disease or recurrent, cytologically or histologically confirmed non-squamous NSCLC with activating EGFR genomic aberrations from 69 centres across Japan. Eligible patients were at least 20 years old, and had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2 or lower, no previous chemotherapy for advanced disease, and one or more measurable lesions based on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (1.1). Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive oral erlotinib 150 mg per day plus intravenous bevacizumab 15 mg/kg once every 21 days, or erlotinib 150 mg per day monotherapy. Randomisation was done by minimisation, stratified by sex, smoking status, clinical stage, and EGFR mutation subtype. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. This study is ongoing; the data cutoff for this prespecified interim analysis was Sept 21, 2017. Efficacy was analysed in the modified intention-to-treat population, which included all randomly assigned patients who received at least one dose of treatment and had at least one response evaluation. Safety was analysed in all patients who received at least one dose of study drug. The trial is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry, number UMIN000017069. Between June 3, 2015, and Aug 31, 2016, 228 patients were randomly assigned to receive erlotinib plus bevacizumab (n=114) or erlotinib alone (n=114). 112 patients in each group were evaluable for efficacy, and safety was evaluated in 112 patients in the combination therapy group and 114 in the monotherapy group. Median follow-up was 12·4 months (IQR 7·0-15·7). At the time of interim analysis, median progression-free survival for patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group was 16·9 months (95% CI 14·2-21·0) compared with 13·3 months (11·1-15·3) for patients in the erlotinib group (hazard ratio 0·605, 95% CI 0·417-0·877; p=0·016). 98 (88%) of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group and 53 (46%) of 114 patients in the erlotinib alone group had grade 3 or worse adverse events. The most common grade 3-4 adverse event was rash (23 [21%] of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group vs 24 [21%] of 114 patients in the erlotinib alone group). Nine (8%) of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group and five (4%) of 114 patients in the erlotinib alone group had serious adverse events. The most common serious adverse events were grade 4 neutropenia (two [2%] of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group) and grade 4 hepatic dysfunction (one [1%] of 112 patients in the erlotinib plus bevacizumab group and one [1%] of 114 patients in the erlotinib alone group). No treatment-related deaths occurred. The results of this interim analysis showed that bevacizumab plus erlotinib combination therapy improves progression-free survival compared with erlotinib alone in patients with EGFR-positive NSCLC. Future studies with longer follow-up, and overall survival and quality-of-life data will be required to further assess the efficacy of this combination in this setting. Chugai Pharmaceutical.

Saito H ，Fukuhara T ，Furuya N ，Watanabe K ，Sugawara S ，Iwasawa S ，Tsunezuka Y ，Yamaguchi O ，Okada M ，Yoshimori K ，Nakachi I ，Gemma A ，Azuma K ，Kurimoto F ，Tsubata Y ，Fujita Y ，Nagashima H ，Asai G ，Watanabe S ，Miyazaki M ，Hagiwara K ，Nukiwa T ，Morita S ，Kobayashi K ，Maemondo M ... -  《-》

Erlotinib versus standard chemotherapy as first-line treatment for European patients with advanced EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (EURTAC): a multicentre, open-label, randomised phase 3 trial.

Erlotinib has been shown to improve progression-free survival compared with chemotherapy when given as first-line treatment for Asian patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with activating EGFR mutations. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of erlotinib compared with standard chemotherapy for first-line treatment of European patients with advanced EGFR-mutation positive NSCLC. We undertook the open-label, randomised phase 3 EURTAC trial at 42 hospitals in France, Italy, and Spain. Eligible participants were adults (> 18 years) with NSCLC and EGFR mutations (exon 19 deletion or L858R mutation in exon 21) with no history of chemotherapy for metastatic disease (neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy ending ≥ 6 months before study entry was allowed). We randomly allocated participants (1:1) according to a computer-generated allocation schedule to receive oral erlotinib 150 mg per day or 3 week cycles of standard intravenous chemotherapy of cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) on day 1 plus docetaxel (75 mg/m(2) on day 1) or gemcitabine (1250 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8). Carboplatin (AUC 6 with docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) or AUC 5 with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m(2)) was allowed in patients unable to have cisplatin. Patients were stratified by EGFR mutation type and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (0 vs 1 vs 2). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) in the intention-to-treat population. We assessed safety in all patients who received study drug (≥ 1 dose). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00446225. Between Feb 15, 2007, and Jan 4, 2011, 174 patients with EGFR mutations were enrolled. One patient received treatment before randomisation and was thus withdrawn from the study; of the remaining patients, 86 were randomly assigned to receive erlotinib and 87 to receive standard chemotherapy. The preplanned interim analysis showed that the study met its primary endpoint; enrolment was halted, and full evaluation of the results was recommended. At data cutoff (Jan 26, 2011), median PFS was 9·7 months (95% CI 8·4-12·3) in the erlotinib group, compared with 5·2 months (4·5-5·8) in the standard chemotherapy group (hazard ratio 0·37, 95% CI 0·25-0·54; p < 0·0001). Main grade 3 or 4 toxicities were rash (11 [13%] of 84 patients given erlotinib vs none of 82 patients in the chemotherapy group), neutropenia (none vs 18 [22%]), anaemia (one [1%] vs three [4%]), and increased amino-transferase concentrations (two [2%] vs 0). Five (6%) patients on erlotinib had treatment-related severe adverse events compared with 16 patients (20%) on chemotherapy. One patient in the erlotinib group and two in the standard chemotherapy group died from treatment-related causes. Our findings strengthen the rationale for routine baseline tissue-based assessment of EGFR mutations in patients with NSCLC and for treatment of mutation-positive patients with EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitors. Spanish Lung Cancer Group, Roche Farma, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Red Temática de Investigacion Cooperativa en Cancer.

Rosell R ，Carcereny E ，Gervais R ，Vergnenegre A ，Massuti B ，Felip E ，Palmero R ，Garcia-Gomez R ，Pallares C ，Sanchez JM ，Porta R ，Cobo M ，Garrido P ，Longo F ，Moran T ，Insa A ，De Marinis F ，Corre R ，Bover I ，Illiano A ，Dansin E ，de Castro J ，Milella M ，Reguart N ，Altavilla G ，Jimenez U ，Provencio M ，Moreno MA ，Terrasa J ，Muñoz-Langa J ，Valdivia J ，Isla D ，Domine M ，Molinier O ，Mazieres J ，Baize N ，Garcia-Campelo R ，Robinet G ，Rodriguez-Abreu D ，Lopez-Vivanco G ，Gebbia V ，Ferrera-Delgado L ，Bombaron P ，Bernabe R ，Bearz A ，Artal A ，Cortesi E ，Rolfo C ，Sanchez-Ronco M ，Drozdowskyj A ，Queralt C ，de Aguirre I ，Ramirez JL ，Sanchez JJ ，Molina MA ，Taron M ，Paz-Ares L ，Spanish Lung Cancer Group in collaboration with Groupe Français de Pneumo-Cancérologie and Associazione Italiana Oncologia Toracica ... -  《-》

Icotinib versus chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment for stage II-IIIA EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (EVIDENCE): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial.

Icotinib has provided survival benefits for patients with advanced, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to compare icotinib with chemotherapy in patients with EGFR-mutant stage II-IIIA NSCLC after complete tumour resection. Here, we report the results from the preplanned interim analysis of the study. In this multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial done at 29 hospitals in China, eligible patients were aged 18-70 years, had histopathogically confirmed stage II-IIIA NSCLC, had complete resection up to 8 weeks before random assignment, were treatment-naive, and had confirmed activation mutation in exon 19 or exon 21 of the EGFR gene. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) with an interactive web-based response system to receive either oral icotinib 125 mg thrice daily for 2 years or four 21-day cycles of intravenous chemotherapy (vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 of each cycle plus cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on day 1 of each cycle for adenocarcinoma or squamous carcinoma; or pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 plus cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on day 1 every 3 weeks for non-squamous carcinoma). The primary endpoint was disease-free survival assessed in the full analysis set. Secondary endpoints were overall survival assessed in the full analysis set and safety assessed in all participants who received study drug. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02448797. Between June 8, 2015, and August 2, 2019, 322 patients were randomly assigned to icotinib (n=161) or chemotherapy (n=161); the full analysis set included 151 patients in the icotinib group and 132 in the chemotherapy group. Median follow-up in the full analysis set was 24·9 months (IQR 16·6-36·4). 40 (26%) of 151 patients in the icotinib group and 58 (44%) of 132 patients in the chemotherapy group had disease relapse or death. Median disease-free survival was 47·0 months (95% CI 36·4-not reached) in the icotinib group and 22·1 months (16·8-30·4) in the chemotherapy group (stratified hazard ratio [HR] 0·36 [95% CI 0·24-0·55]; p<0·0001). 3-year disease-free survival was 63·9% (95% CI 51·8-73·7) in the icotinib group and 32·5% (21·3-44·2) in the chemotherapy group. Overall survival data are immature with 14 (9%) deaths in the icotinib group and 14 (11%) deaths in the chemotherapy. The HR for overall survival was 0·91 (95% CI 0·42-1·94) in the full analysis set. Treatment-related serious adverse events occurred in two (1%) of 156 patients in the icotinib group and 19 (14%) of 139 patients in the chemotherapy group. No interstitial pneumonia or treatment-related death was observed in either group. Our results suggest that compared with chemotherapy, icotinib significantly improves disease-free survival and has a better tolerability profile in patients with EGFR-mutant stage II-IIIA NSCLC after complete tumour resection. Betta Pharmaceuticals TRANSLATION: For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

He J ，Su C ，Liang W ，Xu S ，Wu L ，Fu X ，Zhang X ，Ge D ，Chen Q ，Mao W ，Xu L ，Chen C ，Hu B ，Shao G ，Hu J ，Zhao J ，Liu X ，Liu Z ，Wang Z ，Xiao Z ，Gong T ，Lin W ，Li X ，Ye F ，Liu Y ，Ma H ，Huang Y ，Zhou J ，Wang Z ，Fu J ，Ding L ，Mao L ，Zhou C ... -  《-》