Publication details
Pemetrexed Versus Erlotinib in the Second-line Treatment of Patients with Advanced-stage Non-squamous NSCLC Harboring Wild-type EGFR Gene
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Anticancer Research |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Oncology and hematology |
| Keywords | Pemetrexed; erlotinib; NSCLC; second-line treatment; targeted treatment; chemotherapy |
| Description | Background: Pemetrexed and erlotinib represent different agents commonly used for the second-line treatment of patients with advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and Methods: We analyzed data of 137 patients with advanced-stage non-squamous NSCLC treated with pemetrexed or erlotinib in the second line. All patients harbored a wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor gene. Genetic testing was performed using a combination of denaturing capillary electrophoresis and direct Sanger sequencing. Results: overall response rate and disease control rate in patients treated with pemetrexed was 20.8% and 62.5% vs. 6.3% and 53.2% in patients treated with erlotinib (p=0.022; p=0.358). Median progression-free and overall survival in patients treated with pemetrexed was 1.6 and 11.3 months vs. 1.9 and 11.4 months in patients treated with erlotinib (p=0.470 and p=0.942, respectively). Erlotinib was associated with skin rash and diarrhea; pemetrexed was associated with hematological toxicity and fatigue. Conclusion: A similar efficacy and different, although well-tolerated, toxicity profile of both pemetrexed and erlotinib was shown. |