Ha Yeon Lee

Favorable clinical outcomes of pemetrexed treatment in anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive non-small-cell lung cancer.

INTRODUCTION The development of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor has just followed the recent discovery of ALK rearrangement in lung cancer, therefore not much is yet known about the clinical course and treatment outcomes to chemotherapy in ALK-positive patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC treated with conventional chemotherapy during pre-ALK inhibitor period. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively screened 381 consecutive NSCLC patients without known epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or KRAS mutation who were diagnosed between 2007 and 2008 at a single center, and identified ALK rearrangements by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Additional 44 ALK-positive patients who were identified since 2009 by central lab for participation on clinical trial were included for the analysis of clinical outcomes. RESULTS Of the 381 tumors screened, 21 (5.6%) showed ALK rearrangements, with twenty adenocarcinomas and one pleomorphic carcinoma. Of 65 ALK-positive patients including additional 44 ALK-positive patients, 32 patients received pemetrexed as a second- or further-line therapy, in whom the response rate was 34.4% (11/32), median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.0 months (range: 0-22.0 months) and median overall survival (OS) was 50.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 38.7-62.8). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of ALK rearrangement was 5.6% among EGFR and/or KRAS wild-type/unknown NSCLC population. Pemetrexed, given as a second- or further-line therapy, showed favorable clinical outcomes in ALK-positive NSCLC patients.

A Randomized, Open-Label, Phase II Study Comparing Pemetrexed Plus Cisplatin Followed by Maintenance Pemetrexed versus Pemetrexed Alone in Patients with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)-Mutant Non-small Cell Lung Cancer after Failure of First-Line EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor: KCSG-LU12-13

Purpose The optimal cytotoxic regimens have not been established for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who develop disease progression on first-line epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI). Materials and Methods We conducted a multi-center randomized phase II trial to compare the clinical outcomes between pemetrexed plus cisplatin combination therapy followed by maintenance pemetrexed (PC) and pemetrexed monotherapy (P) after failure of first-line EGFR-TKI. The primary objective was progression-free survival (PFS), and secondary objectives included overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and safety and toxicity profiles. Results A total of 96 patientswere randomized, and 91 patientswere treated at 14 centers in Korea. The ORR was 34.8% (16/46) for the PC arm and 17.8% (8/45) for the P arm (p=0.066). With 23.4 months of follow-up, the median PFS was 5.4 months in the PC arm and 6.4 months in the P arm (p=0.114). The median OS was 17.9 months and 15.7 months in PC and P arms, respectively (p=0.787). Adverse events ≥ grade 3 were reported in 12 patients (26.1%) in the PC arm and nine patients (20.0%) in the P arm (p=0.491). The overall time trends of HRQOL were not significantly different between the two arms. Conclusion The outcomes of pemetrexed therapy in NSCLC patients with disease progression after firstline EGFR-TKI might not be improved by adding cisplatin.

Abstract 1718: Favorable clinical outcomes of pemetrexed treatment in anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive non-small-cell lung cancer patients were associated with low expression of thymidylate synthase in tumor

Introduction The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to conventional chemotherapy in the pre-ALK inhibitor era Patients and Methods We retrospectively screened 381 consecutive NSCLC patients without known epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or KRAS mutation who were diagnosed between 2007 and 2008 at a single center, and identified ALK rearrangements by fluorescence in situ hybridization Additional 44 ALK-positive patients from other period were included for the analysis of clinical outcomes Results Of the 381 tumors screened, four were excluded because the samples were unevaluable Twenty-one (5 6%) showed ALK rearrangements, with twenty adenocarcinomas and one pleomorphic carcinoma Of the entire 65 ALK-positive patients, 32 patients received pemetrexed as a second- or further-line therapy, in whom response rate was 34 4% (11/32) and median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4 0 months Among these 31 patients, 20 specimens were available for thymidylate synthase (TS) expression analysis Low expression of TS were found in 80% (16/20), with a trend toward longer PFS than TS-positive patients (median PFS 4 0 vs 1 0 months, P = 0 095) Conclusions The prevalence of ALK rearrangement was 5 6% among EGFR and/or KRAS wild-type/unknown NSCLC population Low TS protein expression might be associated with better clinical outcomes in ALK-positive NSCLC patients after pemetrexed given as a second- or further-line therapy Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1718. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1718