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Open Access 01-12-2007 | Research article

Clinical benefit of readministration of gefitinib for initial gefitinib-responders with non-small cell lung cancer

Authors: Hiroshi Yokouchi, Koichi Yamazaki, Ichiro Kinoshita, Jun Konishi, Hajime Asahina, Noriaki Sukoh, Masao Harada, Kenji Akie, Shigeaki Ogura, Takashi Ishida, Mitsuru Munakata, Hirotoshi Dosaka-Akita, Hiroshi Isobe, Masaharu Nishimura

Published in: BMC Cancer | Issue 1/2007

Abstract

Background

Gefitinib, an oral agent of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has a certain efficacy against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Several predictive factors of gefitinib sensitivity have been well described. However, few studies have investigated the clinical features of gefitinib-responders. In the present study, we analyzed the response and disease progression of primary and metastatic lesions to gefitinib in responders and the results of gefitinib readministration following temporary cessation of gefitinib upon progression of initial gefitinib treatment and other treatments.

Method

We retrospectively evaluated the clinical courses of 27 NSCLC patients who received gefitinib and achieved either a complete or partial response.

Results

The best-response rate and disease-control rate against the initial chemotherapy for the gefitinib-responders were 27.3% and 77.3%, respectively. Favorable efficacy was observed in the primary lesion and metastases to the lung, liver and brain, while there was no obvious effect on bone metastasis. The primary lesion and intrapulmonary metastasis were the sites of major recurrence. Median progression-free survival was 13.8 months, median duration of gefitinib treatment was 17.0 months and median overall survival was 29.2 months. Some of the patients who experienced disease progression after responding to gefitinib were again sensitive to readministration of gefitinib following temporary cessation of gefitinib and other treatments.

Conclusion

Patients may still be expected to have prolonged survival if they once responded to gefitinib and then underwent various subsequent treatments followed by readministration of gefitinib. These findings might provide valuable information for the management of gefitinib-responders.

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The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/7/51/prepub

Title: Clinical benefit of readministration of gefitinib for initial gefitinib-responders with non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Hiroshi Yokouchi
Koichi Yamazaki
Ichiro Kinoshita
Jun Konishi
Hajime Asahina
Noriaki Sukoh
Masao Harada
Kenji Akie
Shigeaki Ogura
Takashi Ishida
Mitsuru Munakata
Hirotoshi Dosaka-Akita
Hiroshi Isobe
Masaharu Nishimura
Publication date: 01-12-2007
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Cancer / Issue 1/2007
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2407
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2407-7-51

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