Developments in the treatment of early NSCLC: when to use chemotherapy

approximately 30% of lung carcinomas are resected and these cases are candidates for adjuvant treatments. The PORT meta-analysis reported in 1999 that postoperative radiotherapy had a detrimental effect for pathological N0 and N1 patients, and a debatable effect for N2 patients. Following the results of the 1995 meta-analysis on the role of chemotherapy (CT) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), many randomized, controlled trials were launched to evaluate the effect of adjuvant cisplatin-based CT after the complete resection of NSCLC. The Lung adjuvant Ciplatin Evaluation pooled analysis included a total of 4584 patients recruited in five recent cisplatin-based adjuvant trials. It confirmed that adjuvant CT was associated with an absolute 5-year survival benefit of 5.3% (P = 0.0043). In addition, it showed that adjuvant cisplatin-based CT is detrimental in cases of stage Ia resected NSCLC; it also suggested that the combination of vinorelbine and cisplatin was of more benefit than older two and three drug combinations. The individual data-based meta-analysis was also updated with a total of over 10 000 patients. It confirmed the substantial effect of postoperative CT, with or without postoperative radiotherapy, with a substantial overall benefit of 4% at 5 years. Recent results of biological programs suggest that evaluating the expression of various tumor markers, including excision repair cross-complementation group 1, may allow the identification of patients most likely to benefit from CT. If these results are confirmed, tailored therapy might be the next step forward for resected NSCLC.

Phase II study of preoperative gefitinib in clinical stage I non-small-cell lung cancer

PURPOSE

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have proven efficacy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Their role in early-stage NSCLC has not been established. Our purpose was to explore the use of preoperative gefitinib in clinical stage I NSCLC to assess tumor response, toxicity, and clinical and molecular predictors of response.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients received gefitinib 250 mg/d for up to 28 days, followed by mediastinoscopy and surgical resection in an open-label, single-arm study. Tumor response was evaluated by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Blood samples and tumor biopsies were collected and analyzed for transforming growth factor alpha level, EGFR protein expression, EGFR gene copy number, and EGFR (exon 19 to 21) and KRAS mutations.

RESULTS

Thirty-six patients completed preoperative treatment (median duration, 28 days; range, 27 to 30 days). Median follow-up time is 2.1 years (range, 0.86 to 3.46 years). Three patients experienced grade 3 toxicities (rash, diarrhea, and elevated ALT). Tumors demonstrated EGFR-positive protein expression in 83%, high gene copy number in 59%, EGFR mutations in 17%, and KRAS mutations in 17%. Tumor shrinkage was more frequent among women and nonsmokers. Partial response was seen in four patients (11%), and disease progression was seen in three patients (9%). The strongest predictor of response was EGFR mutation.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative window therapy with gefitinib is a safe and feasible regimen in early NSCLC and provides a trial design that may better inform predictors of treatment response or sensitivity.

Adjuvant therapy for resected non-small cell lung cancer

Surgery remains the initial treatment for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The frequent occurrence of distant metastases and local regional failure after surgical resection would indicate that additional treatment is necessary. Early trials of adjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative radiation were often plagued by small patient sample size, inadequate surgical staging, and ineffective or antiquated treatment. A 1995 meta-analysis found a nonsignificant reduction in risk of death for postoperative cisplatin-based chemotherapy. This was followed by a new generation of randomized phase III trials some of which have reported a benefit for chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting. Based on the results of these trials, platin-based chemotherapy has become the standard of care for resected stages II and IIIA NSCLC. The role of postoperative radiation therapy remains to be defined. In the future, improvement in survival outcomes from adjuvant treatment is likely to result from the evaluation of novel agents, identification of tumor markers predictive of disease relapse, and definition of factors that determine sensitivity to therapeutic agents. Some of the molecularly targeted agents such as the angiogenesis and epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors are being incorporated into clinical trials. Gene expression profiles and proteomics are techniques being used to create prediction models to identify patients at risk for disease relapse. Molecular markers such as ERCC1 may determine response to treatment. Increasing the understanding of the molecular makeup of lung cancer will hopefully increase cure rates for patients by maximizing the efficacy of the adjuvant therapy.

Treatment in resectable, locally advanced NSCLC: which is the best approach?

Non-small-cell lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Surgery remains the cornerstone of treatment for localized, resectable lung cancer, although advanced stages are associated with a high risk of developing distant metastases. Large randomized trials have demonstrated an improvement in survival with additional chemotherapy administered before or after surgical intervention. Several meta-analyses have shown improved survival for adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This review discusses the data on adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy for resectable non-small-cell lung cancer and focuses especially on the advantages and disadvantages of induction treatment of operable stage IIIA N2 diseases.

Complete mediastinal lymphadenectomy: the core component of the multidisciplinary therapy in resectable non-small cell lung cancer

There is a great deal of concern about metastasis of lung cancer to regional lymph nodes, due partly to the work of groups of thoracic surgeons in Japan and North America beginning in the 1970s. The classification of regional lymph node stations for lung cancer staging published by Mountain and Dresler has been widely adopted for more than ten years. Anatomic landmarks for 14 levels of intrapulmonary, hilar, and mediastinal lymph nodes stations are designated. Skip transfer and occult lymph node metastasis, confirmed by studies regarding the mode of spread of intrathoracic lymphatic metastasis, are two theoretical bases for complete mediastinal lymphadenectomy of lung cancer. However, whether or not the degree of the dissection influences prognosis, the role of systematic nodal dissection (SND) vs mediastinal lymph node sampling (MLD) in resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. A systematic literature search was performed to identify relevant reports, making full use of the 'Cited by,' 'Related Records,' 'References,' and 'Author Index' functions in the PubMed and ISI Web of Science databases. This paper presents a review of the role of mediastinal lymph node distribution and methods of determining suitability for hilar and mediastinal lymphadenectomy based on the four subsets of stage IIIA-N2, balancing the cost vs effect of mediastinal lymph node dissection in resectable NSCLC, focusing on the stage migration bias in clinical trials comparing SND and MLS, recommending a reasonable node dissection sequence, improving the prospects for the perioperative anti-tumor therapy based on mediastinal lymphadenectomy, and evaluating the various preoperative staging techniques. Finally, we believe that, besides the role of complete resection and accurate staging, the complete mediastinal lymphadenectomy is the core component of the lung cancer multidisciplinary therapy, and suggest that the values of lymphadenectomy should be further assessed using decision-tree analysis based on large-scale prospective randomized trials and pooled analysis to evaluate the costs vs effects.

Multimodality approach to early-stage non-small cell lung cancer

The results of large randomised studies have clearly demonstrated that adjuvant chemotherapy prolongs overall survival by approximately 5% at 5 years in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The benefit appears to be largely confined to patients with stage II/III disease, although approximately 25% of patients with stage I disease are at high risk of relapse within 5 years of surgery and therefore could benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. There is an urgent need to predict more accurately which patients are likely to relapse after surgery and who, therefore, might benefit from further therapy. Preliminary studies indicate that molecular tumour markers may be able to identify tumours that are more likely to respond to chemotherapy and patients who are more likely to achieve improved survival from those who do not benefit at all from adjuvant chemotherapy. A pivotal study has shown that analysis of tumour gene expression can be used to predict the risk of relapse with greater accuracy than that which is achievable using clinical factors. In the future, pharmacogenomics may be used in this approach to identify patients for adjuvant chemotherapy, thus increasing the efficacy of treatment and reducing the burden of therapy in patients who are unlikely to benefit from further therapy.

Chemotherapy and surgery versus surgery alone in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

The role of pre-operative chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was not clear. A systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis were therefore undertaken to evaluate the available evidence from randomised trials.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effect of pre-operative chemotherapy on survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. If adequate data are available, to investigate whether or not pre-defined patient subgroups benefit more or less from pre-operative chemotherapy.

SEARCH STRATEGY

MEDLINE and CANCERLIT searches for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were supplemented by information from trial registers and by handsearching relevant meeting proceedings and by discussion with relevant trialists and organisations.

SELECTION CRITERIA

RCTs were eligible for inclusion provided the patients had been randomised between chemotherapy followed by surgery versus surgery alone and that the method of randomisation precluded prior knowledge of the treatment to be assigned.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

A systematic review and meta-analysis based on aggregate data extracted from trial publications was carried out to assess the effectiveness of pre-operative chemotherapy in NSCLC. This involved identifying eligible RCTs and extracting aggregate data from the abstracts or reports of these RCTs. Hazard ratios were calculated from published summary statistics and then combined to give pooled estimates of treatment efficacy.

MAIN RESULTS

Twelve eligible RCTs were identified. Data were available from seven RCTs including 988 patients (75% of eligible patients). Pre-operative chemotherapy increased survival with a hazard ratio of 0.82 (95%CI 0.69-0.97) P = 0.022. This is equivalent to an absolute benefit of 6%, increasing overall survival across all stages of disease from 14% to 20% at 5 years. There was no evidence of statistical heterogeneity (P = 0.980, I(2 )= 0).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

This analysis shows a significant increase in survival attributable to pre-operative chemotherapy. This is currently the best estimate of the effectiveness of this therapy, but is based on a small number of trials and patients. This analysis was unable to address important questions such as whether particular types of patients may benefit more or less from pre-operative chemotherapy or whether the early stopping of a number of included RCTs impacted on the results. These issues may be addressed by an ongoing individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis.

Lung Cancer in the Elderly

Purpose

Elderly patients often have comorbidities and other characteristics that make the selection of treatment daunting.

Methods

We have reviewed the available evidence in the literature to gauge the results of therapy for elderly lung cancer patients.

Results

The beneficial results achieved with adjuvant chemotherapy in the general population with early non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cannot be automatically extrapolated to the elderly, who are at higher risk of toxicity. Retrospective analyses of combined chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced NSCLC patients suggest equivalent therapeutic benefit for younger and older patients, despite heightened toxicity. There have been no elderly-specific phase III trials for locally advanced NSCLC. For advanced NSCLC, on the basis of evidence-based data, single-agent chemotherapy remains the standard of care for nonselected elderly patients. However, retrospective analyses suggest that the efficacy of platinum-based combination chemotherapy is similar in fit older and younger patients, with increased but acceptable toxicity for elderly patients. In limited-disease small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), sequential chemoradiotherapy is clearly less toxic compared with a standard concurrent approach, but our assessment of treatment is hindered by the absence of prospective elderly-specific trials. Although prophylactic cranial irradiation has emerged as a standard strategy, it should be omitted in patients with cognitive impairment. In extensive SCLC, etoposide in combination with either cisplatin or carboplatin has emerged as standard treatment; hematopoietic support may be necessary.

Conclusion

With the exception of advanced NSCLC, prospective elderly-specific studies are lacking. Available data suggest that outcomes in the fit elderly mirror results observed in younger patients, although toxicity is generally worse.

Lung Cancer Highlights from ASCO 2005

Exciting news regarding lung cancer was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2005 Annual Meeting held in Orlando, FL. Last but not least among the big killers, after breast cancer and colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can now benefit from the addition of a molecularly targeted agent to standard first-line chemotherapy. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 4599 phase III trial showed superior survival in patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC when the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab was added to standard first-line chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel, compared with the same chemotherapy alone. Careful patient selection is mandatory to avoid fatal bleeding following bevacizumab administration. The role of surgery in the multimodality treatment of stage III NSCLC was further defined by the North American Intergroup 0139 trial and the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Lung Cancer group 08941 trial. The final results of the Adjuvant Navelbine International Trialist Association trial add further support to adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy following radical surgery in early-stage NSCLC. Interesting studies further addressed the correlation between molecular tumor profiling and clinical outcome with molecularly targeted agents in NSCLC, in particular gefitinib and erlotinib. Still, the Southwest Oncology Group 0023 randomized trial of maintenance gefitinib after definitive chemoradiation in unresectable NSCLC failed to demonstrate an advantage for maintenance gefitinib over placebo. Unfortunately, no striking results have been reported for small cell lung cancer and pleural malignant mesothelioma. The results of the studies in this report are updated with the data presented at the 2005 ASCO Annual Meeting.