Sunday, April 7, 2019

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment (PDQ®) 4/5 —Health Professional Version - National Cancer Institute

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)—Health Professional Version - National Cancer Institute

National Cancer Institute

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version

Stages IIIB and IIIC NSCLC Treatment

On the basis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program registry, the estimated incidence of stage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is 17.6%.[1] The anticipated 5-year survival for the vast majority of patients who present with clinical stage IIIB NSCLC is 3% to 7%.[2] In small case series, selected patients with T4, N0-1 disease, solely as the result of satellite tumor nodule(s) within the primary lobe, have been reported to have 5-year survival rates of 20%.[3,4][Level of evidence: 3iiiA]

Standard Treatment Options for Stages IIIB and IIIC NSCLC

Standard treatment options for stages IIIB NSCLC and IIIC NSCLC include the following:
  1. Sequential or concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
  2. Radiation therapy dose escalation for concurrent chemoradiation.
  3. Additional systemic therapy before or after concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
  4. Radiation therapy alone.
In general, patients with stages IIIB and IIIC NSCLC do not benefit from surgery alone and are best managed by initial chemotherapy, chemotherapy plus radiation therapy, or radiation therapy alone, depending on the following:
  • Sites of tumor involvement.
  • The patient's performance status (PS).
Most patients with excellent PS are candidates for combined-modality chemotherapy and radiation therapy with the following exceptions:
  • Selected patients with T4, N0 disease may be treated with combined-modality therapy and surgery similar to patients with superior sulcus tumors.

Sequential or concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy

Many randomized studies of patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC show that treatment with preoperative or concurrent cisplatin-based chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the chest is associated with improved survival compared with treatment that uses radiation therapy alone. Although patients with unresectable stages IIIB or IIIC disease may benefit from radiation therapy, long-term outcomes have generally been poor, often the result of local and systemic relapse. The addition of sequential and concurrent chemotherapy to radiation therapy has been evaluated in prospective randomized trials.
Evidence (sequential or concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy):
  1. A meta-analysis of patient data from 11 randomized clinical trials showed the following:[5]
    • Cisplatin-based combinations plus radiation therapy resulted in a 10% reduction in the risk of death compared with radiation therapy alone.[5][Level of evidence: 1iiA]
  2. A meta-analysis of 13 trials (based on 2,214 evaluable patients) showed the following:[6]
    • The addition of concurrent chemotherapy to radical radiation therapy reduced the risk of death at 2 years (relative risk [RR], 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88–0.98; P = .01).
    • For the 11 trials with platinum-based chemotherapy, RR was 0.93 (95% CI, 0.87–0.99; P = .02).[6]
  3. A meta-analysis of individual data from 1,764 patients evaluated nine trials.[7]
    • The hazard ratio (HR)death among patients treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy compared with radiation therapy alone was 0.89 (95% CI, 0.81–0.98; P = .02) corresponding to an absolute benefit of chemotherapy of 4% at 2 years.
    • The combination of platinum with etoposide appeared to be more effective than platinum alone. Concomitant platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation therapy may improve survival of patients with locally advanced NSCLC. However, the available data are insufficient to accurately define the size of such a potential treatment benefit and the optimal schedule of chemotherapy.[7]
  4. The results from two randomized trials (including RTOG-9410 [NCT01134861]) and a meta-analysis indicate that concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy provide greater survival benefit, albeit with more toxic effects, than sequential chemotherapy and radiation therapy.[8-10][Level of evidence: 1iiA]
    1. In the first trial, the combination of mitomycin C, vindesine, and cisplatin were given concurrently with split-course daily radiation therapy to 56 Gy compared with chemotherapy followed by continuous daily radiation therapy to 56 Gy.[8]
      • Five-year overall survival (OS) favored concurrent therapy (27% vs. 9%).
      • Myelosuppression was greater among patients in the concurrent arm, but treatment-related mortality was less than 1% in both arms.[8]
    2. In the second trial, 610 patients were randomly assigned to sequential chemotherapy with cisplatin and vinblastine followed by 63 Gy of radiation therapy, concurrent chemoradiation therapy using the same regimen, or concurrent chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide with twice-daily radiation therapy.[9,10]
      • Median and 5-year survival were superior in the concurrent chemotherapy with daily radiation therapy arm (17 months vs. 14.6 months and 16% vs. 10% for sequential regimen [P = .046]).
    3. Two smaller studies also reported OS results that favored concurrent over sequential chemotherapy and radiation, although the results did not reach statistical significance.[10][Level of evidence: 1iiA]; [11]
  5. A meta-analysis of three trials evaluated concurrent versus sequential treatment (711 patients).[6]
    • The analysis indicated a significant benefit of concurrent versus sequential treatment (RR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78–0.95; P = .003). All used cisplatin-based regimens and once-daily radiation therapy.[6]
    • More deaths (3% overall) were reported in the concurrent arm, but this did not reach statistical significance (RR, 1.60; CI, 0.75–3.44; P = .2).
    • There was more acute esophagitis (grade 3 or worse) with concurrent treatment (range, 17%–26%) compared with sequential treatment (range, 0%–4%; RR, 6.77; P = .001). Overall, the incidence of neutropenia (grade 3 or worse) was similar in both arms.

Radiation therapy dose escalation for concurrent chemoradiation

With improvement in radiation therapy–delivery technology in the 1990s, including tumor-motion management and image guidance, phase I/II trials demonstrated the feasibility of dose-escalation radiation therapy to 74 Gy with concurrent chemotherapy.[12-14] However, a phase III trial of a conventional dose of 60 Gy versus dose escalation to 74 Gy with concurrent weekly carboplatin/paclitaxel did not demonstrate improved local control or progression-free survival (PFS), and OS was worse with dose escalation (HR, 1.38 [1.09–1.76]; P = .004). There was a nonsignificant increase in grade 5 events with dose escalation (10% vs. 2%) and higher incidence of grade 3 esophagitis (21% vs. 7%; P = .0003).[15][Level of evidence: 1iiA]

Additional systemic therapy before or after concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy

The addition of induction chemotherapy before concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy has not been shown to improve survival.[16][Level of evidence: 1iiA]
Consolidation Immunotherapy
Durvalumab
Durvalumab is a selective human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that blocks programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) binding to programmed death 1 (PD-1) and CD80, allowing T cells to recognize and kill tumor cells.[17]
Evidence (durvalumab):
  1. The phase III PACIFIC trial (NCT02125461) enrolled 713 patients with stage III NSCLC whose disease had not progressed after two or more cycles of platinum-based chemoradiation therapy. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive durvalumab (10 mg/kg intravenously) or placebo (every 2 weeks for up to 12 months).[17] The coprimary endpoints were PFS assessed by blinded independent central review and OS (unplanned for the interim analysis).
    • At the interim analysis, the coprimary endpoint of PFS was met. The median PFS was 16.8 months with durvalumab versus 5.6 months with placebo (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.42–0.65; P < .001).[17][Level of evidence:1iiDiii] The 18-month PFS rate was 44.2% with durvalumab versus 27% with placebo.
    • PFS benefit was seen across all prespecified subgroups and was irrespective of PD-L1 expression before chemoradiation therapy or smoking status. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations were observed in 6% of patients (29 treated with durvalumab vs. 14 treated with placebo). The unstratified HR for the EGFR-mutated subgroup was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.35–1.64).
    • Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 29.9% of patients treated with durvalumab and in 26.1% of patients treated with placebo. The most common adverse event of grade 3 or 4 was pneumonia in 4.4% of patients treated with durvalumab and in 3.8% of patients treated with placebo.
    • OS was not assessed at the interim analysis.
Other systemic consolidation therapies
Randomized trials of other consolidation systemic therapies, including docetaxel,[18] gefitinib,[19] and tecemotide (MUC1 antigen-specific immunotherapy) [20] have not shown an improvement in OS.[Level of evidence: 1iiA]
The role of consolidation systemic therapy after concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy for unresectable NSCLC remains unclear. Phase III trials of consolidation systemic therapy including conventional chemotherapy (docetaxel),[18] tyrosine kinase inhibitors (gefitinib),[19] and immunotherapy (tecemotide: MUC1 antigen-specific immunotherapy) [20] have not shown an improvement in OS.[Level of evidence: 1iiA]

Radiation therapy alone

For treatment of locally advanced unresectable tumor in patients who are not candidates for chemotherapy
Radiation therapy alone, administered sequentially or concurrently with chemotherapy, may provide benefit to patients with locally advanced unresectable stage III NSCLC. However, combination chemoradiation therapy delivered concurrently provides the greatest benefit in survival with an increase in toxic effects.
Prognosis:
Radiation therapy with traditional dose and fractionation schedules (1.8–2.0 Gy per fraction per day to 60–70 Gy in 6–7 weeks) results in reproducible long-term survival benefit in 5% to 10% of patients and significant palliation of symptoms.[21]
Evidence (radiation therapy for locally advanced unresectable tumor):
  1. One prospective randomized clinical study showed the following:
    • Radiation therapy given as three daily fractions improved OS compared with radiation therapy given as one daily fraction.[22][Level of evidence: 1iiA]
    • Patterns of failure for patients treated with radiation therapy alone included both locoregional and distant failures.
For patients requiring palliative treatment
Radiation therapy may be effective in palliating symptomatic local involvement with NSCLC, such as the following:
  • Tracheal, esophageal, or bronchial compression.
  • Pain.
  • Vocal cord paralysis.
  • Hemoptysis.
  • Superior vena cava syndrome.
In some cases, endobronchial laser therapy and/or brachytherapy has been used to alleviate proximal obstructing lesions.[23]
Evidence (radiation therapy for palliative treatment):
  1. A systematic review identified six randomized trials of high-dose rate endobronchial brachytherapy (HDREB) alone or with external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) or laser therapy.[24]
    • Better overall symptom palliation and fewer re-treatments were required in previously untreated patients using EBRT alone.[24][Level of evidence: 1iiC]
    • HDREB provided palliation of symptomatic patients with recurrent endobronchial obstruction previously treated by EBRT, when it was technically feasible.
    • Although EBRT is frequently prescribed for symptom palliation, there is no consensus about when the fractionation scheme should be used.
    • Although different multifraction regimens appear to provide similar symptom relief,[25-30] single-fraction radiation may be insufficient for symptom relief compared with hypofractionated or standard regimens, as shown in the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group trial (NCT00003685).[27][Level of evidence: 1iiC]
    • Evidence of a modest increase in survival in patients with better PS given high-dose radiation therapy is available.[25,26][Level of evidence: 1iiA]
Patients with stages IIIB or IIIC disease with poor PS are candidates for chest radiation therapy to palliate pulmonary symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath, hemoptysis, or pain).[21][Level of evidence: 3iiiC] (Refer to the PDQ summaries on Cardiopulmonary Syndromes and Cancer Pain for more information.)

Treatment Options Under Clinical Evaluation

Because of the poor overall results, patients with stages IIIB or IIIC NSCLC are candidates for clinical trials, which may lead to improvement in the control of disease.
Treatment options under clinical evaluation include the following:
  1. New fractionation schedules.
  2. Radiosensitizers (NCT02186847).
  3. Combined-modality approaches.
  4. Incorporation of targeted agents into combined modality therapy in patients with EGFR-mutant or ALK-translocated tumors (RTOG-1306 [NCT01822496]; 11-464 [NCT01553942]).
  5. Adaptive radiation therapy using positron emission tomography–based response assessment during treatment (RTOG-1106/ACRIN-6697).

Current Clinical Trials

Use our advanced clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now enrolling patients. The search can be narrowed by location of the trial, type of treatment, name of the drug, and other criteria. General information about clinical trials is also available.
References
  1. Wisnivesky JP, Yankelevitz D, Henschke CI: Stage of lung cancer in relation to its size: part 2. Evidence. Chest 127 (4): 1136-9, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
  2. Mountain CF: Revisions in the International System for Staging Lung Cancer. Chest 111 (6): 1710-7, 1997. [PUBMED Abstract]
  3. Deslauriers J, Brisson J, Cartier R, et al.: Carcinoma of the lung. Evaluation of satellite nodules as a factor influencing prognosis after resection. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 97 (4): 504-12, 1989. [PUBMED Abstract]
  4. Urschel JD, Urschel DM, Anderson TM, et al.: Prognostic implications of pulmonary satellite nodules: are the 1997 staging revisions appropriate? Lung Cancer 21 (2): 83-7; discussion 89-91, 1998. [PUBMED Abstract]
  5. Chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis using updated data on individual patients from 52 randomised clinical trials. Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Collaborative Group. BMJ 311 (7010): 899-909, 1995. [PUBMED Abstract]
  6. Rowell NP, O'rourke NP: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (4): CD002140, 2004. [PUBMED Abstract]
  7. Aupérin A, Le Péchoux C, Pignon JP, et al.: Concomitant radio-chemotherapy based on platin compounds in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): a meta-analysis of individual data from 1764 patients. Ann Oncol 17 (3): 473-83, 2006. [PUBMED Abstract]
  8. Furuse K, Fukuoka M, Kawahara M, et al.: Phase III study of concurrent versus sequential thoracic radiotherapy in combination with mitomycin, vindesine, and cisplatin in unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol 17 (9): 2692-9, 1999. [PUBMED Abstract]
  9. Curran WJ Jr, Paulus R, Langer CJ, et al.: Sequential vs. concurrent chemoradiation for stage III non-small cell lung cancer: randomized phase III trial RTOG 9410. J Natl Cancer Inst 103 (19): 1452-60, 2011. [PUBMED Abstract]
  10. Fournel P, Robinet G, Thomas P, et al.: Randomized phase III trial of sequential chemoradiotherapy compared with concurrent chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: Groupe Lyon-Saint-Etienne d'Oncologie Thoracique-Groupe Français de Pneumo-Cancérologie NPC 95-01 Study. J Clin Oncol 23 (25): 5910-7, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
  11. Zatloukal P, Petruzelka L, Zemanova M, et al.: Concurrent versus sequential chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin and vinorelbine in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a randomized study. Lung Cancer 46 (1): 87-98, 2004. [PUBMED Abstract]
  12. Rosenman JG, Halle JS, Socinski MA, et al.: High-dose conformal radiotherapy for treatment of stage IIIA/IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer: technical issues and results of a phase I/II trial. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 54 (2): 348-56, 2002. [PUBMED Abstract]
  13. Socinski MA, Blackstock AW, Bogart JA, et al.: Randomized phase II trial of induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemotherapy and dose-escalated thoracic conformal radiotherapy (74 Gy) in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer: CALGB 30105. J Clin Oncol 26 (15): 2457-63, 2008. [PUBMED Abstract]
  14. Bradley JD, Bae K, Graham MV, et al.: Primary analysis of the phase II component of a phase I/II dose intensification study using three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy and concurrent chemotherapy for patients with inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer: RTOG 0117. J Clin Oncol 28 (14): 2475-80, 2010. [PUBMED Abstract]
  15. Bradley JD, Paulus R, Komaki R, et al.: Standard-dose versus high-dose conformal radiotherapy with concurrent and consolidation carboplatin plus paclitaxel with or without cetuximab for patients with stage IIIA or IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer (RTOG 0617): a randomised, two-by-two factorial phase 3 study. Lancet Oncol 16 (2): 187-99, 2015. [PUBMED Abstract]
  16. Vokes EE, Herndon JE 2nd, Kelley MJ, et al.: Induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy compared with chemoradiotherapy alone for regionally advanced unresectable stage III Non-small-cell lung cancer: Cancer and Leukemia Group B. J Clin Oncol 25 (13): 1698-704, 2007. [PUBMED Abstract]
  17. Antonia SJ, Villegas A, Daniel D, et al.: Durvalumab after Chemoradiotherapy in Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. N Engl J Med 377 (20): 1919-1929, 2017. [PUBMED Abstract]
  18. Hanna N, Neubauer M, Yiannoutsos C, et al.: Phase III study of cisplatin, etoposide, and concurrent chest radiation with or without consolidation docetaxel in patients with inoperable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer: the Hoosier Oncology Group and U.S. Oncology. J Clin Oncol 26 (35): 5755-60, 2008. [PUBMED Abstract]
  19. Kelly K, Chansky K, Gaspar LE, et al.: Phase III trial of maintenance gefitinib or placebo after concurrent chemoradiotherapy and docetaxel consolidation in inoperable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer: SWOG S0023. J Clin Oncol 26 (15): 2450-6, 2008. [PUBMED Abstract]
  20. Butts C, Socinski MA, Mitchell PL, et al.: Tecemotide (L-BLP25) versus placebo after chemoradiotherapy for stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (START): a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol 15 (1): 59-68, 2014. [PUBMED Abstract]
  21. Langendijk JA, ten Velde GP, Aaronson NK, et al.: Quality of life after palliative radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: a prospective study. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 47 (1): 149-55, 2000. [PUBMED Abstract]
  22. Komaki R, Cox JD, Hartz AJ, et al.: Characteristics of long-term survivors after treatment for inoperable carcinoma of the lung. Am J Clin Oncol 8 (5): 362-70, 1985. [PUBMED Abstract]
  23. Miller JI Jr, Phillips TW: Neodymium:YAG laser and brachytherapy in the management of inoperable bronchogenic carcinoma. Ann Thorac Surg 50 (2): 190-5; discussion 195-6, 1990. [PUBMED Abstract]
  24. Ung YC, Yu E, Falkson C, et al.: The role of high-dose-rate brachytherapy in the palliation of symptoms in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review. Brachytherapy 5 (3): 189-202, 2006 Jul-Sep. [PUBMED Abstract]
  25. Sundstrøm S, Bremnes R, Aasebø U, et al.: Hypofractionated palliative radiotherapy (17 Gy per two fractions) in advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma is comparable to standard fractionation for symptom control and survival: a national phase III trial. J Clin Oncol 22 (5): 801-10, 2004. [PUBMED Abstract]
  26. Lester JF, Macbeth FR, Toy E, et al.: Palliative radiotherapy regimens for non-small cell lung cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (4): CD002143, 2006. [PUBMED Abstract]
  27. Bezjak A, Dixon P, Brundage M, et al.: Randomized phase III trial of single versus fractionated thoracic radiation in the palliation of patients with lung cancer (NCIC CTG SC.15). Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 54 (3): 719-28, 2002. [PUBMED Abstract]
  28. Erridge SC, Gaze MN, Price A, et al.: Symptom control and quality of life in people with lung cancer: a randomised trial of two palliative radiotherapy fractionation schedules. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 17 (1): 61-7, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
  29. Kramer GW, Wanders SL, Noordijk EM, et al.: Results of the Dutch National study of the palliative effect of irradiation using two different treatment schemes for non-small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol 23 (13): 2962-70, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]
  30. Senkus-Konefka E, Dziadziuszko R, Bednaruk-Młyński E, et al.: A prospective, randomised study to compare two palliative radiotherapy schedules for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Br J Cancer 92 (6): 1038-45, 2005. [PUBMED Abstract]

Newly Diagnosed Stage IV, Relapsed, and Recurrent NSCLC Treatment

Forty percent of patients with newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have stage IV disease. Treatment goals are to prolong survival and control disease-related symptoms. Treatment options include cytotoxic chemotherapy, targeted agents, and immunotherapy. Factors influencing treatment selection include comorbidity, performance status (PS), histology, and molecular and immunologic features of the cancer. Therefore, assessment of tumor-genomic changes and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression is critical before initiating therapy. Radiation therapy and surgery are generally used in selective cases for symptom palliation.

Determinants of treatment

Randomized controlled trials of patients with stage IV disease and good PS have shown that cisplatin-based chemotherapy improves survival and palliates disease-related symptoms.[1][Level of evidence: 1iiA] Patients with nonsquamous cell histology, good PS, no history of hemoptysis or other bleeding, or recent history of cardiovascular events may benefit from the addition of bevacizumab to paclitaxel and carboplatin. Patients with tumors harboring sensitizing mutations in exons 19 or 21 of EGFR, particularly those from East Asia, never smokers, and those with adenocarcinoma may benefit from EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) as an alternative to first- or second-line chemotherapy. Patients with tumors harboring anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocations or ROS1rearrangements may benefit from ALK or ROS1 inhibitors as an alternative to first- or second-line chemotherapy. Patients with tumors expressing PD-L1 (>50% by immunohistochemistry) have improved survival with pembrolizumab. The addition of pembrolizumab to carboplatin plus pemetrexed chemotherapy for nonsquamous advanced lung cancer improves survival irrespective of PD-L1 expression.[2][Level of evidence: 1iiA] Second-line systemic therapy with nivolumab, docetaxel, pemetrexed, or pembrolizumab for PD-L1-positive tumors also improves survival in patients with good PS (who have not received the same or a similar agent in the first-line setting).[1][Level of evidence: 1iiA]
The role of systemic therapy in patients with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group PS below 2 is less certain.

Histology

Patients with adenocarcinoma may benefit from pemetrexed [3] and bevacizumab as well as from combination chemotherapy with pembrolizumab.

Age versus comorbidity

Evidence supports the concept that elderly patients with good PS and limited comorbidity may benefit from combination chemotherapy. Age alone should not dictate treatment-related decisions in patients with advanced NSCLC. Elderly patients with a good PS enjoy longer survival and a better quality of life when treated with chemotherapy compared with supportive care alone. Caution should be exercised when extrapolating data for elderly patients (aged 70–79 years) to patients aged 80 years or older because only a very small number of patients aged 80 years or older have been enrolled on clinical trials, and the benefit in this group is uncertain.[4,5]
Evidence (age vs. comorbidity):
  1. Platinum-containing combination chemotherapy regimens provide clinical benefit when compared with supportive care or single-agent therapy; however, such treatment may be contraindicated in some older patients because of the age-related reduction in the functional reserve of many organs and/or comorbid conditions. Approximately two-thirds of patients with NSCLC are aged 65 years or older, and approximately 40% are aged 70 years or older.[6] Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data suggest that the percentage of patients aged older than 70 years is closer to 50%.
  2. A review of the SEER Medicare data from 1994 to 1999 found a much lower rate of chemotherapy use than expected for the overall population.[7] The same data suggested that elderly patients may have more comorbidities or a higher rate of functional compromise that would make study participation difficult, if not contraindicated; lack of clinical trial data may influence decisions to treat individual patients with standard chemotherapy.
  3. Single-agent chemotherapy and combination chemotherapy clearly benefit at least some elderly patients. In the Elderly Lung Cancer Vinorelbine Italian Study, 154 patients who were older than 70 years were randomly assigned to vinorelbine or supportive care.[8]
    • Patients who were treated with vinorelbine had a 1-year survival rate of 32%, compared with 14% for those who were treated with supportive care alone. Quality-of-life parameters were also significantly improved in the chemotherapy arm, and toxic effects were acceptable.
  4. A trial from Japan compared single-agent docetaxel with vinorelbine in 180 elderly patients with good PS.[9]
    • Response rates (22% vs. 10%) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates (5.4 months vs. 3.1 months) were significantly better with docetaxel, but median survival rates (14.3 months vs. 9.9 months) and 1-year survival rates (59% vs. 37%) did not reach statistical significance.
  5. Retrospective data analyzing and comparing younger (age <70 years) patients with older (age ≥70 years) patients who participated in large randomized trials of doublet combinations have also shown that elderly patients may derive the same survival benefit, but with a higher risk of toxic effects in the bone marrow.[4,5,10-13]

Performance status

PS is among the most important prognostic factors for survival of patients with NSCLC.[14] The benefit of therapy for this group of patients has been evaluated through retrospective analyses and prospective clinical trials.
The results support further evaluation of chemotherapeutic approaches for both metastatic and locally advanced NSCLC; however, the efficacy of current platinum-based chemotherapy combinations is such that no specific regimen can be regarded as standard therapy. Outside of a clinical trial setting, chemotherapy should be given only to patients with good PS and evaluable tumor lesions, who desire this treatment after being fully informed of its anticipated risks and limited benefits.
Evidence (PS):
  1. The Cancer and Leukemia Group B trial (CLB-9730 [NCT00003117]), which compared carboplatin and paclitaxel with single-agent paclitaxel, enrolled 99 patients with a PS of 2 (18% of the study's population).[12]
    • When compared with patients with a PS of 0 to 1, who had a median survival of 8.8 months and a 1-year survival rate of 38%, the corresponding median survival figures for patients with a PS of 2 were 3.0 months and a 1-year survival rate of 14%; this demonstrates the poor prognosis conferred by a lower PS. These differences were statistically significant.
    • When patients with a PS of 2 were analyzed by treatment arm, those who received combination chemotherapy had a significantly higher response rate (24% vs. 10%), longer median survival (4.7 months vs. 2.4 months), and a superior 1-year survival rate (18% vs. 10%), compared with those who were treated with single-agent paclitaxel.[12]
  2. A phase III trial compared single-agent pemetrexed with the combination of carboplatin and pemetrexed in 205 patients with a PS of 2 who had not had any previous chemotherapy.[15][Level of evidence: 1iiA]
    • Median overall survival (OS) was 5.3 months for the pemetrexed-alone group and 9.3 months for the carboplatin-and-pemetrexed group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46–0.83; P = .001).
    • Median PFS was 2.8 months for the pemetrexed-alone group and 5.8 months for the carboplatin-and-pemetrexed group (P < .001).
    • The response rates were 10.3% for the pemetrexed-alone group and 23.8% for the carboplatin-and-pemetrexed group (P = .032).
    • Side effects were more frequent in the combination arm, as expected.
    This study, which was performed in eight centers in Brazil and one center in the United States, reported rates of OS and PFS that were higher than has historically been noted in most, although not all, other published studies. This may indicate differences in patient selection.
  3. A subset analysis of 68 patients with a PS of 2 from a trial that randomly assigned more than 1,200 patients to four platinum-based regimens has been published.
    • Despite a high incidence of adverse events, including five deaths, the final analysis showed that the overall toxic effects experienced by patients with a PS of 2 was not significantly different from that experienced by patients with a PS of 0 to 1.
    • An efficacy analysis demonstrated an overall response rate of 14%, median survival time of 4.1 months, and a 1-year survival rate of 19%; all were substantially inferior to the patients with PS of 0 to 1.
  4. A phase II randomized trial (E-1599 [NCT00006004]) of attenuated dosages of cisplatin plus gemcitabine and carboplatin plus paclitaxel included 102 patients with a PS of 2.[16]
    • Response rates were 25% in the cisplatin-plus-gemcitabine arm and 16% in the carboplatin-plus-paclitaxel arm; median survival times were 6.8 months in the cisplatin-plus-gemcitabine arm and 6.1 months in the carboplatin-plus-paclitaxel arm; 1-year survival rates were 25% in the cisplatin-plus-gemcitabine arm and 19% in the carboplatin-plus-paclitaxel arm. None of these differences was statistically significant, but the survival figures were longer than expected, based on historical controls.
  5. Results from two trials suggest that patients with a PS of 2 may experience symptom improvement.[17,18]

Standard Treatment Options for Newly Diagnosed Stage IV, Relapsed, and Recurrent NSCLC (First-line Therapy)

Standard treatment options for patients with newly diagnosed stage IV, relapsed, and recurrent disease include the following:
  1. Cytotoxic combination chemotherapy with platinum (cisplatin or carboplatin) and paclitaxel, gemcitabine, docetaxel, vinorelbine, irinotecan, protein-bound paclitaxel, or pemetrexed.
  2. Combination chemotherapy with monoclonal antibodies.
  3. Maintenance therapy following first-line chemotherapy (for patients with stable or responding disease after four cycles of platinum-based combination chemotherapy).
    • Maintenance therapy following first-line chemotherapy.
    • Pemetrexed following first-line platinum-based combination chemotherapy.
    • Maintenance erlotinib following platinum-based doublet chemotherapy.
  4. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) (for patients with EGFR mutations).
  5. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors (for patients with ALK translocations).
  6. ROS1 inhibitors (for patients with ROS1 rearrangements).
  7. BRAFV600E and MEK inhibitors (for patients with BRAF V600E mutations).
  8. Neurotrophic tyrosine kinase (NTRK) inhibitors (for patients with NTRK fusions).
  9. Immune checkpoint inhibitors with or without chemotherapy.
  10. Local therapies and special considerations.

Cytotoxic combination chemotherapy

Combination chemotherapy
The type and number of chemotherapy drugs to be used for the treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC has been extensively evaluated in randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses.
Several randomized trials have evaluated various drugs combined with either cisplatin or carboplatin in previously untreated patients with advanced NSCLC. On the basis of meta-analyses of the trials, the following conclusions can be drawn:
  • Certain three-drug combinations that add so-called targeted agents may result in superior survival.
  • EGFR inhibitors may benefit selected patients with EGFR mutations.
  • Maintenance chemotherapy after four cycles of platinum combination chemotherapy may improve PFS and OS.
  • Platinum combinations with vinorelbine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine, irinotecan, protein-bound paclitaxel, and pemetrexed yield similar improvements in survival. Types and frequencies of toxic effects differ, and these may determine the preferred regimen for an individual patient. Patients with adenocarcinoma may benefit from pemetrexed.
  • Cisplatin and carboplatin yield similar improvements in outcome with different toxic effects. Some, but not all, trials and meta-analyses of trials suggest that outcomes with cisplatin may be superior, although with a higher risk of certain toxicities such as nausea and vomiting.
  • Nonplatinum combinations offer no advantage to platinum-based chemotherapy, and some studies demonstrate inferiority.
  • Three-drug combinations of the commonly used chemotherapy drugs do not result in superior survival and are more toxic than two-drug combinations.
Evidence (combination chemotherapy):
  1. The Cochrane Collaboration reviewed data from all randomized controlled trials published between January 1980 and June 2006, comparing a doublet regimen with a single-agent regimen or comparing a triplet regimen with a doublet regimen in patients with advanced NSCLC.[23] Sixty-five trials (13,601 patients) were identified.
    • In the trials that compared a doublet regimen with a single-agent regimen, a significant increase was observed in tumor response (odds ratio [OR], 0.42; 95% CI, 0.37–0.47; P < .001) and 1-year survival (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.70–0.91; P < .001) in favor of the doublet regimen. The absolute benefit in 1-year survival was 5%, which corresponds to an increase in 1-year survival from 30% with a single-agent regimen to 35% with a doublet regimen. The rates of grades 3 and 4 toxic effects caused by doublet regimens were statistically increased compared with rates after single-agent therapy, with ORs ranging from 1.2 to 6.2. Infection rates did not increase in doublet regimens.
    • There was no increase in 1-year survival (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.85–1.21; P = .88) for triplet regimens versus doublet regimens. The median survival ratio was 1.00 (95% CI, 0.94–1.06; P = .97).
  2. Several meta-analyses have evaluated whether cisplatin or carboplatin regimens are superior, with variable results.[24-26] One meta-analysis reported individual patient data for 2,968 patients entered in nine randomized trials.[24]
    • The objective response rate (ORR) was higher for patients treated with cisplatin (30%) than for patients treated with carboplatin (24%); (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.16–1.61; P < .001).
    • Carboplatin treatment was associated with a nonstatistically significant increase in the hazard of mortality relative to treatment with cisplatin (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.99–1.15; P = .100).
    • In patients with nonsquamous cell tumors and in patients treated with third-generation chemotherapy, carboplatin-based chemotherapy was associated with a statistically significant increase in mortality (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.01–1.23 in patients with nonsquamous cell tumors and HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01–1.21 in patients treated with third-generation chemotherapy).
    • Treatment-related toxic effects were also assessed in the meta-analysis. More thrombocytopenia was seen with carboplatin than with cisplatin (12% vs. 6%; OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.71–3.01; P < .001), but cisplatin caused more nausea and vomiting (8% vs. 18%; OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.33–0.53; P < .001) and renal toxic effects (0.5% vs. 1.5%; OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.15–0.88; P = .018).
    • The authors concluded that treatment with cisplatin was not associated with a substantial increase in the overall risk of severe toxic effects. This comprehensive individual-patient meta-analysis is consistent with the conclusions of other meta-analyses that were based on essentially the same clinical trials but which used only published data.
  3. Three literature-based meta-analyses have trials that compared platinum with nonplatinum combinations.[27-29]
    1. The first meta-analysis identified 37 assessable trials that included 7,633 patients.[27]
      • A 62% increase in the OR for response was attributable to platinum-based therapy (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.46–1.8; P < .001). The 1-year survival rate was increased by 5% with platinum-based regimens (34% vs. 29%; OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.09–1.35; P = .003).
      • No statistically significant increase in 1-year survival was found when platinum therapies were compared with third-generation-based combination regimens (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.96–1.28; P = .17).
      • The toxic effects of platinum-based regimens was significantly higher for hematologic toxic effects, nephrotoxic effects, and nausea and vomiting but not for neurologic toxic effects, febrile neutropenia rate, or toxic death rate. These results are consistent with the second literature-based meta-analysis.
    2. The second meta-analysis identified 17 trials that included 4,920 patients.[28]
      • The use of platinum-based doublet regimens was associated with a slightly higher survival at 1 year (relative risk [RR], 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01%–1.16%; P = .03) and a better partial response (RR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.02–1.21; P = .02), with a higher risk of anemia, nausea, and neurologic toxic effects.
      • In subanalyses, cisplatin-based doublet regimens improved survival at 1 year (RR, 1.16%; 95% CI, 1.06–1.27; P = .001), complete response (RR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.08–4.88; P = .03), and partial response (RR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.07–1.32; P = .002), with an increased risk of anemia, neutropenia, neurologic toxic effects, and nausea.
      • Conversely, carboplatin-based doublet regimens did not increase survival at 1 year (RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.85–1.07; P = .43).
    3. The third meta-analysis of phase III trials randomizing platinum-based versus nonplatinum combinations as first-line chemotherapy identified 14 trials.[29] Experimental arms were gemcitabine and vinorelbine (n = 4), gemcitabine and taxane (n = 7), gemcitabine and epirubicin (n = 1), paclitaxel and vinorelbine (n = 1), and gemcitabine and ifosfamide (n = 1). This meta-analysis was limited to the set of 11 phase III studies that used a platinum-based doublet (2,298 patients in the platinum-based arm and 2,304 patients in the nonplatinum arm).
      • Patients treated with a platinum-based regimen benefited from a statistically significant reduction in the risk of death at 1 year (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.78–0.99; P = .044) and a lower risk of being refractory to chemotherapy (OR, 0.87; CI, 0.73–0.99; P = .049).
      • Forty-four (1.9%) toxic-related deaths were reported for platinum-based regimens and 29 (1.3%) toxic-related deaths were reported for nonplatinum regimens (OR, 1.53; CI, 0.96–2.49; P = 0.08). An increased risk of grade 3 to 4 gastrointestinal and hematologic toxic effects for patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy was statistically demonstrated. There was no statistically significant increase in the risk of febrile neutropenia (OR, 1.23; CI, 0.94–1.60; P = .063).
Drug and dose schedule
Among the active combinations, definitive recommendations regarding drug dose and schedule cannot be made, with the exception of carboplatin, pemetrexed, and pembrolizumab for patients with nonsquamous tumor histology.
Evidence (drug and dose schedule):
  1. One meta-analysis of seven trials that included 2,867 patients assessed the benefit of docetaxel versus vinorelbine.[30] Docetaxel was administered with a platinum agent in three trials, with gemcitabine in two trials, or as monotherapy in two trials. Vinca alkaloid (vinorelbine in six trials and vindesine in one trial) was administered with cisplatin in six trials or alone in one trial.
    • The pooled estimate for OS showed an 11% improvement in favor of docetaxel (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.82–0.96; P = .004). Sensitivity analyses that considered only vinorelbine as a comparator or only the doublet regimens showed similar improvements.
    • Grade 3 to 4 neutropenia and grade 3 to 4 serious adverse events were less frequent with docetaxel-based regimens (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.38–0.89; P = .013) versus vinca alkaloid-based regimens (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.55–0.84; P < .001).
  2. Two randomized trials compared weekly versus every 3 weeks' dosing of paclitaxel and carboplatin, which reported no significant difference in efficacy and better tolerability for weekly administration.[31,32] Although meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials suggest that cisplatin combinations may be superior to carboplatin or nonplatinum combinations, the clinical relevance of the differences in efficacy must be balanced against the anticipated tolerability, logistics of administration, and familiarity of the medical staff in making treatment decisions for individual patients.
  3. A large, noninferiority, phase III randomized study compared the OS in 1,725 chemotherapy-naïve patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC and a PS of 0 to 1.[3] Patients received cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on day 1 and gemcitabine 1,250 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 (n = 863) or cisplatin 75 mg/m2 and pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 on day 1 (n = 862) every 3 weeks for up to six cycles.
    • OS for cisplatin and pemetrexed (median survival, 10.3 months) was noninferior to cisplatin and gemcitabine (median survival, 10.3 months; HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.84%–1.05%).
    • In patients with adenocarcinoma (n = 847), OS was statistically superior for cisplatin and pemetrexed (12.6 months) versus cisplatin and gemcitabine (10.9 months); in patients with large cell carcinoma (n = 153), OS was statistically superior for cisplatin and pemetrexed (10.4 months) versus cisplatin and gemcitabine (6.7 months).
    • In contrast, in patients with squamous cell histology (n = 473), there was a significant improvement in survival with cisplatin and gemcitabine (10.8 months) versus cisplatin and pemetrexed (9.4 months). For cisplatin and pemetrexed, rates of grade 3 or 4 neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia (P ≤ .001); febrile neutropenia (P = .002); and alopecia (P < .001) were significantly lower, whereas grade 3 or 4 nausea (P = .004) was more common.
    • The results of this study suggested that the cisplatin and pemetrexed doublet is another alternative doublet for first-line chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC and also suggested that there may be differences in outcome depending on histology.

Combination chemotherapy with monoclonal antibodies

Bevacizumab
Evidence (bevacizumab):
  1. Two randomized trials have evaluated the addition of bevacizumab, an antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor, to standard first-line combination chemotherapy.
    1. In a randomized study of 878 patients with recurrent or advanced stage IIIB/IV NSCLC, 444 patients received paclitaxel and carboplatin alone, and 434 patients received paclitaxel and carboplatin plus bevacizumab.[33] Chemotherapy was administered every 3 weeks for six cycles, and bevacizumab was administered every 3 weeks until disease progression was evident or toxic effects were intolerable. Patients with squamous cell tumors, brain metastases, clinically significant hemoptysis, or inadequate organ function or PS (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group PS >1) were excluded.
      • Median survival was 12.3 months in the group assigned to chemotherapy plus bevacizumab, as compared with 10.3 months in the chemotherapy-alone group (HRdeath, 0.79; P = .003).
      • Median PFS was 6.2 months in the group assigned to chemotherapy plus bevacizumab (HR for disease progression, 0.66; P < .001), with a 35% response rate (P < .001), and 4.5 months in the chemotherapy-alone group (HR for disease progression, 0.66; P < .001), with a 15% response rate (P < .001).
      • Rates of clinically significant bleeding were 4.4% in the group assigned to chemotherapy plus bevacizumab and 0.7% in the chemotherapy-alone group (P < .001). There were 15 treatment-related deaths in the chemotherapy-plus-bevacizumab group, including five from pulmonary hemorrhage.
      • For this subgroup of patients with NSCLC, the addition of bevacizumab to paclitaxel and carboplatin may provide survival benefit.[33][Level of evidence: 1iiA]
    2. Another randomized, phase III trial investigated the efficacy and safety of cisplatin-gemcitabine plus bevacizumab.[34] Patients were randomly assigned to receive cisplatin (80 mg/m2) and gemcitabine (1,250 mg/m2) for up to six cycles, plus low-dose bevacizumab (7.5 mg/kg), high-dose bevacizumab (15 mg/kg), or placebo every 3 weeks until disease progression. The primary endpoint was amended from OS to PFS during the course of the study. A total of 1,043 patients were accrued (placebo group, n = 347; low-dose group, n = 345; high-dose group, n = 351).
      • PFS was significantly prolonged with the addition of bevacizumab; the HRs for PFS were 0.75 in the low-dose group (median PFS, 6.7 months vs. 6.1 months for placebo group; P = .03) and 0.82 in the high-dose group compared with the placebo group (median PFS, 6.5 months vs. 6.1 months for placebo group; P = .03).[34][Level of evidence: 1iiB]
      • ORRs were also improved with the addition of bevacizumab, and they were 20.1% for placebo, 34.1% for low-dose bevacizumab, and 30.4% for high-dose bevacizumab plus cisplatin/gemcitabine.
      • Incidence of grade 3 or greater adverse events was similar across arms.
      • Grade 3 or greater pulmonary hemorrhage rates were 1.5% or less for all arms, despite 9% of patients receiving therapeutic anticoagulation.
      • These results support the addition of bevacizumab to platinum-containing chemotherapy, but the results are far less impressive than when the carboplatin-paclitaxel combination was used.
      • Furthermore, no significant difference in survival was shown in this study, as reported in abstract form.
      • Altogether, these findings may suggest that the backbone of chemotherapy may be important when bevacizumab is added.
Cetuximab
Evidence (cetuximab):
  1. Two trials have evaluated the addition of cetuximab to first-line combination chemotherapy.[35,36]
    1. In the first trial, 676 chemotherapy-naïve patients with stage IIIB (pleural effusion) or stage IV NSCLC, without restrictions by histology or EGFRexpression, received cetuximab with taxane (paclitaxel or docetaxel with carboplatin) or combination chemotherapy.[35]
      • The addition of cetuximab did not result in a statistically significant improvement in PFS, the primary study endpoint, or OS.
      • Median PFS was 4.40 months for patients in the cetuximab-chemotherapy arm versus 4.24 months for patients in the taxane-carboplatin arm (HR, 0.902; 95% CI, 0.761–1.069; P = .236).
      • Median OS was 9.69 months for patients in the cetuximab-chemotherapy arm versus 8.38 months for patients in the chemotherapy-alone arm (HR, 0.890; 95% CI, 0.754–1.051; P = .169).
      • No significant associations were found between EGFR expression, EGFRmutation, EGFR copy number, or KRAS mutations and PFS, OS, and response in the treatment-specific analyses.[37]
    2. The second trial was composed of 1,125 chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced EGFR-expressing stage IIIB/IV NSCLC treated with cisplatin-vinorelbine chemotherapy plus cetuximab or chemotherapy alone.[36]
      • The primary study endpoint, OS, was longer for patients treated with cetuximab and chemotherapy (median 11.3 months vs. 10.1 months; HRdeath, 0.871; 95% CI, 0.762–0.996; P = .044).
      • A survival benefit was seen in all histological subgroups; however, survival benefit was not seen in nonwhite or Asian patients. Only the interaction between the treatment and the ethnic origin was significant (P = .011).
      • The main cetuximab-related adverse event was acne-like rash (grade 3, 10%).
    3. It is not clear whether the differences in outcome in these two studies are the result of differences in the study populations, tumor characterization for EGFR expression, or chemotherapy regimens.
Necitumumab
Evidence (necitumumab):
  1. Two phase III trials have evaluated the addition of the second-generation, recombinant, human immunoglobulin G1 EGFR antibody, necitumumab, to platinum-doublet chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced nonsquamous cell and squamous cell NSCLC.[38,39]
    1. The SQUIRE (NCT00981058) trial randomly assigned 1,093 patients with advanced squamous NSCLC to receive either first-line chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine or the same regimen with the addition of necitumumab (800 mg on day 1 and day 8 of each cycle).[39]
      • Median OS was prolonged with the addition of necitumumab (11.5 months vs. 9.9 months; P = .01).
      • PFS was also prolonged with the addition of necitumumab (5.7 months vs. 5.5 months); however, ORR was similar in both groups (31% vs. 28%).
      • Grades 3 and 4 adverse events were higher in the necitumumab-containing arm (72% vs. 62%).
      • Necitumumab is associated with higher toxicity and relatively modest benefit.
    2. The INSPIRE (NCT00982111) trial randomly assigned 633 patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC to receive either first-line chemotherapy with cisplatin and pemetrexed or to cisplatin and pemetrexed with the addition of necitumumab (800 mg on day 1 and day 8 of each cycle).[38]
      • This study showed no benefit from the addition of necitumumab to standard first-line chemotherapy for advanced nonsquamous NSCLC.
      • OS was 11.3 months (95% CI, 9.5–13.4) for patients in the necitumumab-containing arm versus 11.5 months (95% CI, 10.1–13.1) for patients in the chemotherapy alone arm; P = .96. Similarly, there was no difference between the arms in terms of ORR or PFS.
      • Serious adverse events and rates of grades 3 and 4 adverse events, including thromboembolic events, were higher in patients in the necitumumab-containing arm; the incidence of treatment-related deaths was also higher (5% vs. 3%).
      • On the basis of these results, necitumumab is not recommended as combination therapy with standard first-line chemotherapy for patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC.

Maintenance therapy after first-line chemotherapy (for patients with stable or responding disease after four cycles of platinum-based combination chemotherapy)

One extensively investigated treatment strategy in NSCLC is maintenance therapy after initial response to chemotherapy. Options for maintenance therapy that have been investigated include the following:
  • Continuing the initial combination chemotherapy regimen.
  • Continuing only single-agent chemotherapy.
  • Introducing a new agent as maintenance.
Multiple randomized trials have evaluated the efficacy of continuing first-line combination cytotoxic chemotherapy beyond three to four cycles.
Evidence (maintenance therapy following first-line chemotherapy):
  1. None of the trials of continued cytotoxic combinations showed a significant OS advantage with additional or longer durations beyond four cycles. For patients with nonsquamous NSCLC, two studies have demonstrated improved PFS and OS with either switch or continuous maintenance chemotherapy (e.g., maintenance pemetrexed after initial cisplatin and gemcitabine or maintenance pemetrexed after initial cisplatin and pemetrexed).[40]
  2. Three trials found statistically significantly improved PFS or time to progression with additional chemotherapy.[41-43]
  3. No consistent improvement in quality of life was reported.[42,44,45]
  4. Chemotherapy-related toxicities were greater with prolonged chemotherapy.[44,45]
These data suggest that PFS and OS for patients with nonsquamous NSCLC may be improved either by continuing an effective chemotherapy beyond four cycles or by immediate initiation of alternative chemotherapy. The improvement in PFS, however, is tempered by an increase in adverse events including additional cytotoxic chemotherapy and no consistent improvement in quality of life. For patients who have stable disease or who respond to first-line therapy, evidence does not support the continuation of combination cytotoxic chemotherapy until disease progression or the initiation of a different chemotherapy before disease progression. Collectively, these trials suggest that first-line cytotoxic combination chemotherapy should be stopped at disease progression or after four cycles in patients whose disease is not responding to treatment; it can be administered for no more than six cycles.[41,42,44,45] For patients with nonsquamous NSCLC who have a response or stable disease after four to six cycles of platinum combination chemotherapy, maintenance chemotherapy with pemetrexed should be considered.[40]
Evidence (first-line platinum-based combination chemotherapy followed by pemetrexed):
  1. The findings of two randomized trials (NCT00102804 and NCT00789373) have shown improved outcomes with the addition of pemetrexed after standard first-line platinum-based combination chemotherapy.[43,46]
    1. In the first trial, 663 patients with stage IIIB/IV disease who had not progressed on four cycles of nonpemetrexed platinum–based chemotherapy were randomly assigned (2:1 ratio) to receive pemetrexed or placebo until disease progression.[46]
      • Both the primary endpoint of PFS and the secondary endpoint of OS were statistically significantly prolonged with the addition of maintenance pemetrexed (median PFS, 4.3 months vs. 2.6 months; HR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.42–0.61; P < .0001; median OS, 13.4 months vs. 10.6 months; HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65–0.95; P = .012).
      • Benefit was not seen in patients with squamous histology.
      • Higher than grade 3 toxicity and treatment discontinuations that resulted from drug-related toxic effects were higher in the pemetrexed group than in the placebo group.
      • No pemetrexed-related deaths occurred.
      • Relatively fewer patients in the pemetrexed group than in the placebo group received systemic postdiscontinuation therapy (227 [51%] vs. 149 [67%]; P = .0001).
      • Quality of life during maintenance therapy with pemetrexed was similar to placebo, except for a small increase in loss of appetite and significantly delayed worsening of pain and hemoptysis as assessed using the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale.[47] The quality-of-life results require cautious evaluation because there was a high degree of censoring (> 50%) with the primary quality-of-life endpoint, which was time to worsening of symptoms.
      • Trials have not evaluated maintenance pemetrexed versus pemetrexed at progression.
    2. In the second trial, 539 patients with nonsquamous NSCLC with nonprogression after treatment with pemetrexed and cisplatin were randomly assigned to continued pemetrexed or placebo.[43]
      • There was a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of PFS (4.1 months vs. 2.8 months, HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.49–0.79) and in the secondary endpoint of OS (13.9 months vs. 11 months, HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.64–0.96).[40,43][Level of evidence: 1iDiii]
Evidence (maintenance erlotinib following platinum-based doublet chemotherapy):
  1. One trial (NCT00556712) reported favorable outcomes with maintenance erlotinib after four cycles of platinum-based doublet chemotherapy in patients with stable disease.[48]
    1. In this trial, 889 patients with NSCLC but without progressive disease were randomly assigned to receive erlotinib (150 mg/day) or placebo until they experienced progressive disease or unacceptable toxicity.[48]
      • Median PFS was significantly longer with erlotinib than with placebo: 12.3 weeks for patients in the erlotinib group versus 11.1 weeks for patients in the placebo group (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.62–0.82; P < .0001).
      • In the overall population, patients whose tumors had activating EGFRmutations derived the greatest PFS benefit from maintenance erlotinib treatment (n = 49; HR, 0.10; P < .0001).
      • Patients whose tumors were wild-type EGFR also obtained significant PFS (HR, 0.78) and OS (HR, 0.77) improvements.
      • In the subgroup of patients with stable disease whose tumors did not have activating EGFR mutations (n = 217), both PFS (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.54–0.96; P = .0231) and OS (HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.48–0.87; P = .0041) were significantly prolonged with erlotinib.
      • In patients whose tumors had activating EGFR mutations (n = 30), OS was also improved with erlotinib (HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.14–1.62) but was not statistically significant in this analysis.[49]
      • EGFR immunohistochemistry, EGFR fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), KRAS mutation, and EGFR CA-simple sequence repeat in intron 1 repeat length status were not predictive for erlotinib efficacy.[50] KRASmutation status was a significant, negative prognostic factor for PFS.[50][Level of evidence: 1iDiii]
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