Phase II Trial of Sunitinib Maintenance Therapy After Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in Patients with Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

Cancer combination therapies by angiogenesis inhibitors; a comprehensive review

Abnormal vasculature is one of the most conspicuous traits of tumor tissue, largely contributing to tumor immune evasion. The deregulation mainly arises from the potentiated pro-angiogenic factors secretion and can also target immune cells' biological events, such as migration and activation. Owing to this fact, angiogenesis blockade therapy was established to fight cancer by eliminating the nutrient and oxygen supply to the malignant cells by impairing the vascular network. Given the dominant role of vascular-endothelium growth factor (VEGF) in the angiogenesis process, the well-known anti-angiogenic agents mainly depend on the targeting of its actions. However, cancer cells mainly show resistance to anti-angiogenic agents by several mechanisms, and also potentiated local invasiveness and also distant metastasis have been observed following their administration. Herein, we will focus on clinical developments of angiogenesis blockade therapy, more particular, in combination with other conventional treatments, such as immunotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, targeted therapy, and also cancer vaccines. Video abstract.

Effectiveness and Safety of Anlotinib Monotherapy for Patients with Extensive-stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer Who Progressed to Chemotherapy: A Real-world Exploratory Study

Background:

Anlotinib demonstrated promising efficacy for patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) in clinical trials. However, the real-world evidence of anlotinib monotherapy in ES-SCLC was still limited currently. Therefore, present study was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of anlotinib for patients with ES-SCLC who progressed to chemotherapy in real-world and the potential biomarker during anlotinib monotherapy.

Methods:

A total of 89 patients with ES-SCLC who failed the previous chemotherapy treatment were recruited. All the patients were administered with anlotinib monotherapy. Demographic data of the patients were collected; effectiveness and safety profile during anlotinib monotherapy were documented through electronic medical record system in the hospital. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were presented using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariate analysis was adjusted by Cox regression analysis.

Results:

All the 89 patients with ES-SCLC who progressed to chemotherapy were available for the assessment of effectiveness and safety profile. Best overall response indicated that partial response was observed in 6 patients (6.7%), stable disease was noted in 61 patients (68.5%), and progressive disease was found in 22 patients (24.7%). Therefore, the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) of the 89 patients with ES-SCLC was 6.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.5%-14.1%) and 75.3% (95% CI: 65.0%-83.8%), respectively. The prognostic data suggested that the median PFS of the 89 patients was 3.1 months (95% CI: 2.10-4.10), and the median OS was 8.6 months (95% CI: 7.42-9.78). In addition, the most common adverse reactions of the patients who received anlotinib monotherapy were hypertension (34.8%), hand-foot syndrome (30.3%), fatigue (29.2%), loss of appetite (27.0%), and hematological toxicity (21.3%). Association analysis between biomarker (hypertension status) and prognosis indicated that the median PFS of patients with hypertension and patients with non-hypertension was 5.5 and 3.0 months, respectively (χ² = 4.64, P = .031). Furthermore, multivariate Cox analysis for PFS suggested that hypertension status was an independent factor for PFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.71, P = .035].

Conclusion:

Anlotinib monotherapy showed encouraging effectiveness and acceptable safety profile for patients with ES-SCLC in real world. Hypertension induced by anlotinib administration might be used as a potential biomarker to predict superior PFS for patients with ES-SCLC.

Angiogenesis Inhibitors in Small Cell Lung Cancer

Inhibition of angiogenesis has been demonstrated to be an efficacious strategy in treating several tumors. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most important protein with proangiogenic functions and it is overexpressed in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody directed against VEGF, showed a promising activity in combination with etoposide and cisplatin as first-line treatment of patients with extended stage (ES)-SCLC and two randomized studies confirmed that bevacizumab improved PFS, but failed to prolong OS. Instead, disappointing results have been observed with endostar, sunitinib, sorafenib, vandetanib, and thalidomide in combination with chemotherapy in the first-line setting, with sunitinib in the maintenance setting, with sunitinib, cediranib and nintedanib as single agents or ziv-aflibercept in combination with topotecan in second-line setting. Only anlotinib improved OS and PFS as third-line therapy in Chinese patients with SCLC, and it was approved with this indication in China. Future challenges are the evaluation of the role of angiogenesis inhibitors in combination with immune- checkpoint inhibitors and chemotherapy in SCLC patients and the identification of predictive biomarkers of response to both agents.

Rovalpituzumab Tesirine as a Maintenance Therapy After First-Line Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in Patients With Extensive-Stage-SCLC: Results From the Phase 3 MERU Study

INTRODUCTION

Rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T) is an antibody-drug conjugate targeting DLL3, an atypical Notch ligand expressed in SCLC tumors. We evaluated the efficacy of Rova-T versus placebo as maintenance therapy in patients with extensive-stage-SCLC after platinum-based chemotherapy.

METHODS

MERU was a phase 3 randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. Patients without disease progression after four cycles of platinum-based, front-line chemotherapy were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive 0.3 mg/kg Rova-T or placebo (every 6 wk, omitted every third cycle). Primary efficacy end points were progression-free survival (PFS) evaluated by the Central Radiographic Assessment Committee and overall survival (OS) in patients with DLL3-high tumors.

RESULTS

Median age of all randomized patients (N = 748) was 64 years; 78% had TNM stage IV disease. At futility analysis of the subset with DLL3-high tumors, the hazard ratio for OS was 1.07 (95% confidence interval: 0.84-1.36) favoring the placebo arm, with median OS of 8.5 and 9.8 months in the Rova-T and placebo arms, respectively; futility criteria were met. Rova-T significantly improved PFS versus placebo by investigator assessment (4.0 versus 1.4 mo, hazard ratio = 0.48, p < 0.001). Any-grade adverse events (≥20%) in the Rova-T arm were pleural effusion (27%), decreased appetite (27%), peripheral edema (26%), photosensitivity reaction (25%), fatigue (25%), nausea (22%), and dyspnea (21%).

CONCLUSIONS

Because of the lack of survival benefit in the Rova-T arm, the study did not meet its primary end point and was terminated early. As a result, the Central Radiographic Assessment Committee evaluation of PFS was not performed. The frequency of grade greater than or equal to 3 and drug-related toxicities were higher with Rova-T versus placebo. Rova-T was associated with unique toxicities, such as pleural and pericardial effusions, photosensitivity reaction, and peripheral edema, which should be carefully considered in the population with extensive-stage-SCLC.

Efficacy and Safety of Anlotinib for Elderly Patients with Previously Treated Extensive-Stage SCLC and the Prognostic Significance of Common Adverse Reactions

Background

This study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of anlotinib for elderly patients with previously treated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) and the prognostic significance of common adverse reactions.

Patients and Methods

A total of 79 elderly patients (≥60 years) with ES-SCLC who failed after at least two lines of previous systemic therapy were included. Baseline characteristics of the patients were collected. Follow-up was conducted regularly. Adverse reactions were documented. Survival curves were drawn using Kaplan–Meier method. Univariate analysis was assessed using log rank test, and multivariate analysis was adjusted by Cox regression analysis. Additionally, the prognostic significance of common adverse reactions was performed.

Results

All of the 79 patients were available for evaluation of efficacy. Partial response (PR) was observed in 7 patients, stable disease (SD) was noted in 48 patients and progressive disease (PD) was confirmed in 24 patients. Consequently, the objective response rate (ORR) was 8.9% and disease control rate (DCR) was 69.6%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) of the 79 elderly patients with ES-SCLC was 3.0 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.02–3.98]. The median overall survival (OS) was 7.1 months (95% CI: 5.07–9.13). Safety profile demonstrated that the relatively common adverse reactions of the elderly patients with ES-SCLC receiving anlotinib treatment were hypertension (40.5%), hand-foot syndrome (HFS, 31.6%), diarrhea (27.8%), decreased appetite (20.3%), fatigue (17.7%) and weight loss (17.7%). Interestingly, the prognostic significance of common adverse reactions indicated that the median PFS of patients with hypertension and without hypertension was 4.35 and 2.95 months, respectively (P=0.01), and the median PFS of patients with HFS and without HFS was 4.20 and 2.95 months, respectively (P=0.03).

Conclusion

The preliminary efficacy and safety of anlotinib in the treatment for elderly patients with previously treated ES-SCLC was satisfactory, and patients with hypertension and hand-foot syndrome might confer superior prognosis.

Apatinib for chemotherapy-refractory extensive-stage SCLC: a retrospective study

PURPOSE

There is no standard treatment strategy for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) who have failed two or more prior chemotherapeutic regimens. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of apatinib in patients with extensive-stage SCLC after failure of more than second-line chemotherapy.

METHODS

A study group comprised of 22 patients with extensive-stage SCLC after failure of more than two prior chemotherapeutic regimens was given apatinib orally at an initial dose of 500 mg daily until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. This study was analyzed according to the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria for adverse events (AEs) and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) for response assessment.

RESULTS

Between August 30, 2015, and May 26, 2017, 22 patients were enrolled for evaluating the efficacy and safety of apatinib. Among them, 12/22 (54.5%) underwent dose reduction during treatment. Up to July 31, 2018, the median progression-free survival rate was 135.0 days [95% confidence interval (CI) 63.8-206.2]. According to the RECIST criteria, the disease control rate (DCR) was 86.4%, 19/22 [comprised of partial response (PR) 18.2%, 4/22; and stable disease (SD) 68.2%, 15/22 patients]. The most frequent AEs were hand-foot syndrome (45.5%, 10/22), secondary hypertension (45.5%, 10/22) and fatigue (40.9%, 9/22). The primary grade 3 or 4 toxicities were hypertension (22.7%, 5/22), hand-foot syndrome (13.6%, 3/22), and proteinuria (9.1%, 2/22).

CONCLUSIONS

Apatinib exhibits modest activity and acceptable toxicity for patients with heavily pretreated extensive-stage SCLC.

From Resistance to Sensitivity: Insights and Implications of Biphasic Modulation of Autophagy by Sunitinib

Sunitinib, a multityrosine kinase inhibitor, is currently the standard first-line therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and is also used in treating patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine and imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Nevertheless, most patients eventually relapse secondary to intrinsic or acquired sunitinib resistance. Autophagy has been reported to contribute to both chemo-sensitivity and -resistance. However, over the last few years, controversial regulatory effects of sunitinib on autophagy have been reported. Since gaining insights into the underlying molecular insights and clinical implications is indispensible for achieving optimum therapeutic response, this minireview article sheds light on the role of a network of prosurvival signaling pathways recently identified as key mediators of sunitinib resistance with established and emerging functions as autophagy regulators. Furthermore, we underscore putative prognostic biomarkers of sunitinib responsiveness that could guide clinicians toward patient stratification and more individualized therapy. Importantly, innovative therapeutic strategies/approaches to overcome sunitinib resistance both evaluated in preclinical studies and perspective clinical trials are discussed which could ultimately be translated to better clinical outcome.

Targeting angiogenesis in small cell lung cancer

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive and lethal malignancy. Despite high initial response rates to systemic chemotherapy, the disease eventually relapses; further treatment only modestly improves outcomes and overall survival (OS) for patients with extensive stage disease is less than one year. Little progress has been made during the past decades, with no new drugs approved. Consequently, the development of novel strategies is an unmet need. The inhibition of angiogenesis, a defining characteristic of cancer, has demonstrated modest efficacy in several human malignancies, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, results from clinical trials in SCLC have been disappointing, and no anti-angiogenic agent has received regulatory approval due to lack of clinical efficacy. The elucidation of underlying mechanisms responsible for tumor resistance to angiogenic therapy and the simultaneous blockade of multiple elements that play a role in angiogenesis need to be further explored.

Targeted drugs in small-cell lung cancer

In contrast to non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), few advances have been made in systemic treatment of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) in recent years. Most patients are diagnosed with extensive stage disease and are commonly treated with platinum-based chemotherapy which, although attaining high initial objective responses, has a limited impact on survival. Due to the dismal prognosis of SCLC, novel and more effective treatment strategies are urgently needed. A deeper characterization of the genomic landscape of SCLC has led to the development of rational and promising targeted agents. However, despite a large number of clinical trials, results have been disappointing and there are still no approved targeted drugs for SCLC. Recent comprehensive genomic studies suggest SCLC is a heterogeneous disease, characterized by genomic alterations targeting a broad variety of genes, including those involved in transcription regulation and chromatin modification which seem to be a hallmark of this specific lung cancer subtype. Current research efforts are focusing on further understanding of the cellular and molecular abnormalities underlying SCLC development, progression and resistance to chemotherapy. Unraveling the genomic complexity of SCLC could be the key to optimize existing treatments, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and for identifying those patients most likely to benefit from selected targeted therapeutic approaches.

Personalized Therapy of Small Cell Lung Cancer

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive, poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma with distinct clinical, pathological and molecular characteristics. Despite robust responses to initial chemotherapy and radiation, the prognosis of patients with SCLC remains poor with an overall 5-year survival rate of less than 10 %. Despite the fact that numerous molecularly targeted approaches have thus far failed to demonstrate clinical utility in SCLC, further advances will rely on better definition of the biological pathways that drive survival, proliferation and metastasis. Recent next-generation, molecular profiling studies have identified many new therapeutic targets in SCLC, as well as extreme genomic instability which explains the high degree of resistance. A wide variety of anti-angiogenic agents, growth factor inhibitors, pro-apoptotic agents, and epigenetic modulators have been evaluated in SCLC and many studies of these strategies are on-going. Perhaps the most promising approaches involve agents targeting cancer stem cell pathways and immunomodulatory drugs that interfere with the PD1 and CTLA-4 pathways. SCLC offers many barriers to the development of successful therapy, including limited tumor samples, inadequate preclinical models, high mutational burden, and aggressive tumor growth which impairs functional status and hampers enrollment on clinical trials.

Benefit, Risk, and Outcomes in Drug Development: A Systematic Review of Sunitinib

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the total patient burden associated with clinical development and where burdens fall most heavily during a drug development program. Our goal was to quantify the total patient burden/benefit in developing a new drug.

METHODS

We measured risk using drug-related adverse events that were grade 3 or higher, benefit by objective response rate, and trial outcomes by whether studies met their primary endpoint with acceptable safety. The differences in risk (death rate) and benefit (overall response rate) between industry and nonindustry trials were analyzed with an inverse-variance weighted fixed effects meta-analysis implemented as a weighted regression analysis. All statistical tests were two-sided.

RESULTS

We identified 103 primary publications of sunitinib monotherapy, representing 9092 patients and 3991 patient-years of involvement over 10 years and 32 different malignancies. In total, 1052 patients receiving sunitinib monotherapy experienced objective tumor response (15.7% of intent-to-treat population, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 15.3% to 16.0%), 98 died from drug-related toxicities (1.08%, 95% CI = 1.02% to 1.14%), and at least 1245 experienced grade 3-4 drug-related toxicities (13.7%, 95% CI = 13.3% to 14.1%). Risk/benefit worsened as the development program matured, with several instances of replicated negative studies and almost no positive trials after the first responding malignancies were discovered.

CONCLUSIONS

Even for a successful drug, the risk/benefit balance of trials was similar to phase I cancer trials in general. Sunitinib monotherapy development showed worsening risk/benefit, and the testing of new indications responded slowly to evidence that sunitinib monotherapy would not extend to new malignancies. Research decision-making should draw on evidence from whole research programs rather than a narrow band of studies in the same indication.

Sunitinib (SU11248) in patients with chemo naive extensive small cell lung cancer or who have a 'chemosensitive' relapse: A single-arm phase II study (EORTC-08061)

BACKGROUND

Targeted therapies have to date not been successful in the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). This study aimed to assess the therapeutic activity of sunitinib (an oral, multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor) using positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) imaging as an early indicator of response.

METHODS

This was a single-arm phase II study of sunitinib in patients with SCLC who are either chemo naive (extensive disease) or have a 'sensitive' relapse. A loading dose of 150 mg sunitinib was given orally followed by 37.5 mg/d. The primary end-point was disease control rate (DCR) at 8 weeks after the start of treatment and secondary end-points included toxicity of treatment and overall response. PET-CT was carried out at 4 weeks into the treatment. The study was closed early because of low accrual with only 9 of required 48 patients (19%) accrued.

RESULTS

Nine patients were registered, seven females and two males with a median age of 65 years and a median duration of sunitinib treatment of 7.4 weeks. DCR at 8 weeks was achieved in two patients, both of whom went on to long periods of disease control, one patient achieved a partial response which lasted 10 months and a second patient had stable disease (minor shrinkage) which lasted 20 months. One of these patients proved to have an atypical carcinoid tumour at rebiopsy after 10 months. DCR and PET-CT imaging both predicted these responses. Grade III-IV toxicities were encountered during treatment, most commonly neutropenia (n = 3), thrombocytopenia (n = 3) and hypermagnesaemia (n = 2). One toxic death occurred due to bronchial haemorrhage.

CONCLUSION

This study emphasises the need for alternate study design and end-points for new drug assessment in SCLC. EudraCT number: 2006-002485-19.

Maintenance sunitinib for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer: a new standard, an option or a step in the right direction?

Systemic treatment for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) has been stagnant for several decades. Sunitinib is a small molecule that inhibits a variety of receptor tyrosine kinases relevant in tumor biology. CALGB (Alliance) 30504 is a phase II study that investigated the use of maintenance sunitinib vs. placebo in patients with ES-SCLC after treatment with induction platinum/etoposide chemotherapy. The trial met its primary endpoint with an improvement in median progression free survival (PFS) of 1.6 months over placebo. Toxicity included grade 3 fatigue in 19% of patients. Although PFS may be a meaningful endpoint in this patient population, the modest improvement in PFS identified with maintenance sunitinib combined with the toxicity profile would not change the current standard of care. Changes in future trial design may enhance the ability to identify agents that will preserve patient functionality and prolong survival.

[Research Progression of Maintenance Therapy in Small Cell Lung Cancer]

Lung cancer is one of the common malignant tumors in the world, the incidence of small cell lung cancer is about 15% among them. Small cell lung cancer is highly sensitive to first-line chemotherapy, but most of the patients relapse after the first-line therapy quickly. Despitemany clinical researchof chemotherapy, biological agents and molecular targeting agents since the 1980s, there still remains a substantial lack of consensus regarding the appropriate therapeutic management on maintenance therapy of small cell lung cancer. The review focuses on maintenance therapy of small cell lung cancer.

Chemotherapy With or Without Maintenance Sunitinib for Untreated Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase II Study-CALGB 30504 (Alliance)

PURPOSE

To evaluate the efficacy of maintenance sunitinib after chemotherapy for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The Cancer and Leukemia Group B 30504 trial was a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase II study that enrolled patients before chemotherapy (cisplatin 80 mg/m(2) or carboplatin area under the curve of 5 on day 1 plus etoposide 100 mg/m(2) per day on days 1 to 3 every 21 days for four to six cycles). Patients without progression were randomly assigned 1:1 to placebo or sunitinib 37.5 mg per day until progression. Cross-over after progression was allowed. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) from random assignment for maintenance placebo versus sunitinib using a one-sided log-rank test with α = .15; 80 randomly assigned patients provided 89% power to detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.67.

RESULTS

One hundred forty-four patients were enrolled; 138 patients received chemotherapy. Ninety-five patients were randomly assigned; 10 patients did not receive maintenance therapy (five on each arm). Eighty-five patients received maintenance therapy (placebo, n = 41; sunitinib, n = 44). Grade 3 adverse events with more than 5% incidence were fatigue (19%), decreased neutrophils (14%), decreased leukocytes (7%), and decreased platelets (7%) for sunitinib and fatigue (10%) for placebo; grade 4 adverse events were GI hemorrhage (n = 1) and pancreatitis, hypocalcemia, and elevated lipase (n = 1; all in same patient) for sunitinib and thrombocytopenia (n = 1) and hypernatremia (n = 1) for placebo. Median PFS on maintenance was 2.1 months for placebo and 3.7 months for sunitinib (HR, 1.62; 70% CI, 1.27 to 2.08; 95% CI, 1.02 to 2.60; one-sided P = .02). Median overall survival from random assignment was 6.9 months for placebo and 9.0 months for sunitinib (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.79 to 2.10; one-sided P = .16). Three sunitinib and no placebo patients achieved complete response during maintenance. Ten (77%) of 13 patients evaluable after cross-over had stable disease on sunitinib (6 to 27 weeks).

CONCLUSION

Maintenance sunitinib was safe and improved PFS in extensive-stage SCLC.

Advances in pharmacotherapy of small cell lung cancer

INTRODUCTION

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive malignancy characterized by early metastatic dissemination and responsiveness to initial therapy. The incidence of SCLC has been declining over the past two decades. Limited-stage SCLC is a potentially curable disease with long-term survival of ∼ 20% when treated with platinum-based chemotherapy plus concurrent thoracic radiation and prophylactic cranial irradiation. For patients with extensive-stage SCLC, survival can be increased with combination platinum-based chemotherapy, but the disease remains incurable.

AREAS COVERED

This review looks at the current advances in pharmacotherapy for SCLC.

EXPERT OPINION

Many chemotherapeutic strategies and newer cytotoxic agents have been evaluated in SCLC, and some had promising activity in early clinical trials. However, none have demonstrated consistent improvements in outcome over standard platinum-based treatment. Similarly, although many potential molecular targets have been identified in preclinical studies of SCLC, molecularly targeted therapy has yet to demonstrate any substantial activity in clinical trials. Nonetheless, future advances in this disease will undoubtedly depend on improvements in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that drive the proliferation and survival of SCLC cells.

Phase II trial of sorafenib in conjunction with chemotherapy and as maintenance therapy in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVES

Sorafenib is a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor of Raf kinase, VEGFR, and PDGFR. Angiogenesis is important for growth and progression of SCLC. This trial was conducted to evaluate whether the combination of cisplatin and etoposide plus concurrent and sequential sorafenib could prolong survival in patients with previously untreated SCLC.

METHODS

Previously untreated patients with extensive stage SCLC were treated with cisplatin and etoposide days 1, 2, 3 for four cycles, concurrent with sorafenib 200 mg orally bid starting day 1 cycle 1. Patients with no disease progression after four cycles continued sorafenib 400 mg orally bid as maintenance for maximum of 12 months. The primary endpoint was 1 year survival with response rate and safety as secondary endpoints.

RESULTS

A total of 18 patients were enrolled with 17 evaluable patients. One patient had a complete response, seven patients had a partial response (overall response rate of 47 %) and one patient had stable disease. Overall median survival was 7.4 months and 1 year survival was 25 %. The most common treatment-related adverse events included fatigue, anorexia, rash, diarrhea, neutropenia and weight loss. Grade 5 GI bleeding, pulmonary hemorrhage and neutropenia occurred in one pt (6 %) each. Accrual was halted on the basis of safety profile as well as preliminary efficacy data.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of platinum based chemotherapy and sorafenib has significant toxicity at current dose levels and is associated with disappointing efficacy data.

Risk of hypothyroidism in patients with cancer treated with sunitinib: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib is used in various cancers. Clinical studies have reported a substantial variation in the incidence of hypothyroidism associated with sunitinib, without a systemic attempt to synthesize these data.

METHODS

We searched Medline databases for relevant clinical trials published up to May 2012. Phase II and III trials and expanded access programs of sunitinib in patients with any type of cancer that reported occurrence of hypothyroidism were eligible. The summary incidence, relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random- or fixed-effects models based on the heterogeneity of included studies.

RESULTS

Incidence analysis was performed using 6678 sunitinib-treated patients from all 24 eligible trials. The incidence of all- and high-grade hypothyroidism was 9.8% (95% CI 7.3-12.4%) and 0.4% (95% CI 0.3-0.5%), respectively. A meta-analysis of seven randomized trials with 2787 subjects revealed a RR of all- and high-grade hypothyroidism of 13.95 (95% CI 6.91-28.15; p < 0.00001) and 4.78 (95% CI 1.09-20.84; p = 0.04), respectively. Subgroup analysis revealed a significantly higher incidence of all-grade hypothyroidism in patients receiving sunitinib for longer duration than in patients receiving sunitinib for shorter duration (p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis of data available from clinical trials demonstrates that sunitinib is associated with a significant risk of developing all- and high-grade hypothyroidism. These data provide further evidence to recommend monitoring for hypothyroidism in patients receiving sunitinib.

A phase II study of sunitinib in patients with relapsed or refractory small cell lung cancer

PURPOSE

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sunitinib in patients with relapsed or refractory small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Eligibility included histologic or cytologic diagnosis of SCLC, ECOG PS of 0-2, cancer progression following one or two prior chemotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) and adequate organ functions. Treatment regimen consisted of a 6-week cycle of sunitinib given as 50mg p.o. daily for 4 weeks followed by 2 weeks off. The primary end point was objective response rate (ORR).

RESULTS

From March 2008 to October 2010, 25 patients were enrolled and 24 received treatment. The median age was 64.5 years; 22 patients (92%) were male. Eight patients (33%) displayed sensitive relapse. Seven patients (29%) received CRT and fifteen patients (63%) had received one prior chemotherapy. A median of 1 cycle (range 1-4) of sunitinib was administered, and 23 patients were evaluable for response. Two patients displayed partial response, and seven patients presented stable disease with a ORR of 9% (95% CI, 1-28%). The median progression-free (PFS) and overall survivals were 1.4 months (95% CI, 1.1-1.7) and 5.6 months (95% CI, 3.5-7.7), respectively. The common grade 3 or 4 toxicities included thrombocytopenia (63%), asthenia (29%) and neutropenia (25%).

CONCLUSIONS

Although tumor response was noted in 2 patients, the median PFS was short and most patients were unable to tolerate the treatment. At the current dose schedule, sunitinib does not appear to warrant further evaluation.

Management of small cell lung cancer: recent developments for optimal care

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents approximately 13% of all lung cancer diagnoses and the incidence has reduced over the last 20 years. Treatment of SCLC remains challenging because of its rapid growth, early dissemination and development of drug resistance during the course of the disease. Chemotherapy remains the cornerstone of treatment for limited (LD) and extensive disease (ED), with concurrent chemotherapy and radical thoracic radiotherapy representing the best treatment option for fit patients with LD. Platinum-based chemotherapy is the treatment of choice in fit patients with good organ function, and the radiosensitizing effect of cisplatin is critically important for concurrent chemoradiotherapy in LD. Anthracycline-containing regimens represent a viable alternative for patients where platinum-based chemotherapy is contraindicated. Patients who relapse or progress after first-line chemotherapy have a very poor prognosis. Second-line therapy may produce a modest clinical benefit. Maintenance chemotherapy has not been shown to convincingly improve outcomes for SCLC. A number of targeted agents have been investigated in LD and ED, mostly in unselected populations, with disappointing results. Prophylactic cranial irradiation has been shown to reduce the incidence of brain metastases and prolong survival for both LD and ED without negative impact on quality of life (QOL) and cognitive function. Ongoing trials will shed some light on the impact of thoracic radiotherapy on QOL, symptom control and survival in ED SCLC patients who benefitted from first-line chemotherapy.

Targeted therapies in small cell lung cancer: a review

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive form of lung cancer that is characterized by a rapid doubling time, early onset of dissemination and high sensitivity to chemotherapy. Despite the potential for cure in patients with limited disease with concurrent chemoradiation and an initial good response to chemotherapy in extensive disease, there is a high chance of disease relapse with an overall poor median survival for both stages. With increasing translational research and a better understanding of the molecular basis of cancer, a number of molecular targets have been identified in various preclinical studies. This review summarizes potentially viable targets and new agents that have been developed and employed in recent, ongoing and future clinical trials to attempt to improve clinical outcomes in this disease.