Objective: We previously reported that 22% of lung cancer patients experienced a Grade 2 or 3 elevation in creatinine after chemotherapy containing cisplatin. We conducted a Phase II trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of short hydration. Methods: The major eligibility criteria included patients with lung cancer for whom a !75 mg/m 2 cisplatin-based regimen was indicated and adequate organ function. Cisplatin was administered with pre-and post-hydration containing 10 mEq of potassium chloride in 500 ml of fluid over a 60-min period. Immediately before the administration of cisplatin, mannitol (20%, 200 ml) was administered as forced diuresis over 30 min. And magnesium sulfate (8 mEq) was added to pre-hydration. Results: Forty-four patients were enrolled between April and December 2011. The patients included 29 men and 15 women with a median (range) age of 64 (42-74) years. Twenty patients received cisplatin and pemetrexed as their most frequent regimen and 38 patients received three to four cycles of chemotherapy. The median (range) duration and volume of the chemotherapies were 4.0 (3.3 -6.8) h and 1600 (1550 -2050) ml, respectively. Of the 44 patients, 43 (97.8%) completed the cisplatin-based chemotherapy without Grade 2 or higher renal dysfunction. The only patient who had Grade 2 elevation in creatinine (maximum value 1.7 mg/dl) had prompt improvement in creatinine levels and completed four cycles of chemotherapy. Conclusions: The short hydration is safe without severe renal toxicities in regimens containing cisplatin (!75 mg/m 2 ) for patients with lung cancer.

Therapy with alectinib alone was significantly superior to therapy with crizotinib alone in terms of TTF, PFS, and OS, and sequential therapy with crizotinib and alectinib after crizotinib failure tended to provide a better OS benefit than did therapy with alectinib alone in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC. However, large-scale prospective studies are needed to confirm these observations.

IMPORTANCEAlthough the efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors for EGFR gene mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer is well established, optimal dosing remains to be established, especially in elderly or frail patients.OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy and safety of low-dose erlotinib in elderly or frail patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Single-arm phase 2 trial with the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) 2-stage design that enrolled frail patients from 21 Japanese institutions after meeting the inclusion criteria. Chemotherapy-naive patients with EGFR-activating mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer who were considered frail based on age, the Charlson Comorbidity Index, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status were eligible for the study.INTERVENTIONS Patients were initially administered 50 mg/d erlotinib for 4 weeks, which was modified based on response or adverse events. Dose increase was permitted for patients with stable disease after 4 weeks. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe primary end point was the independent review committee-confirmed objective response rate (ORR) at the dose of 50 mg/d. The study also evaluated the pharmacokinetics of low-dose erlotinib and influence of ABCB1 gene polymorphisms.RESULTS Eighty patients were enrolled, with a median (range) age of 80 (49-90) years; 54 (68%) were men. An independent review committee confirmed a significant ORR of 60.0% (90% CI, 50.2%-69.2%). The disease control rate was 90.0% (90% CI, 82.7%-94.9%), median progression-free survival was 9.3 months (95% CI, 7.2-11.4 months), and median overall survival was 26.2 months (95% CI, 21.9-30.4 months). Mild adverse events were observed in some participants, with few patients exhibiting grade 3 or greater adverse events. Low-dose erlotinib treatment was temporarily suspended for 10 patients owing to adverse events. Five of 80 patients (6%) had their erlotinib dose reduced to 25 mg because of oral mucositis, paronychia, erythema multiforme, diarrhea, and anorexia. Two patients discontinued treatment because of adverse events (cutaneous ulcer and bone infection, and oral mucositis, respectively). There were no cases of interstitial lung disease or treatment-related deaths. The median (range) erlotinib plasma concentration was measured at 685 (153-1950) ng/mL. Seventy-three patients discontinued study treatment owing to disease progression (n = 60), death (n = 3), AEs (n = 4), and patient requests (n = 6). No clear association was observed between the pharmacokinetics of low-dose erlotinib and the treatment outcome.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Low-dose erlotinib appears to be safe and effective in elderly or frail patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer and can be a valid treatment option.

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