Cited by 8,261Lung Cancer Treatments and MutationsLung Cancer Diagnosis and TreatmentLung Cancer Research Studies

Gefitinib or Carboplatin–Paclitaxel in Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma

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Mok, Tony S., Wu, Yi-Long, Thongprasert, Sumitra, Yang, Chih-Hsin, Chu, Da-Tong, Saijo, Nagahiro, Sunpaweravong, Patrapim, Han, Baohui +11 more·2009·New England Journal of Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous, uncontrolled studies have suggested that first-line treatment with gefitinib would be efficacious in selected patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. METHODS: In this phase 3, open-label study, we randomly assigned previously untreated patients in East Asia who had advanced pulmonary adenocarcinoma and who were nonsmokers or former light smokers to receive gefitinib (250 mg per day) (609 patients) or carboplatin (at a dose calculated to produce an area under the curve of 5 or 6 mg per milliliter per minute) plus paclitaxel (200 mg per square meter of body-surface area) (608 patients). The primary end point was progression-free survival. RESULTS: The 12-month rates of progression-free survival were 24.9% with gefitinib and 6.7% with carboplatin-paclitaxel. The study met its primary objective of showing the noninferiority of gefitinib and also showed its superiority, as compared with carboplatin-paclitaxel, with respect to progression-free survival in the intention-to-treat population (hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65 to 0.85; P<0.001). In the subgroup of 261 patients who were positive for the epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR) mutation, progression-free survival was significantly longer among those who received gefitinib than among those who received carboplatin-paclitaxel (hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.64; P<0.001), whereas in the subgroup of 176 patients who were negative for the mutation, progression-free survival was significantly longer among those who received carboplatin-paclitaxel (hazard ratio for progression or death with gefitinib, 2.85; 95% CI, 2.05 to 3.98; P<0.001). The most common adverse events were rash or acne (in 66.2% of patients) and diarrhea (46.6%) in the gefitinib group and neurotoxic effects (69.9%), neutropenia (67.1%), and alopecia (58.4%) in the carboplatin-paclitaxel group. CONCLUSIONS: Gefitinib is superior to carboplatin-paclitaxel as an initial treatment for pulmonary adenocarcinoma among nonsmokers or former light smokers in East Asia. The presence in the tumor of a mutation of the EGFR gene is a strong predictor of a better outcome with gefitinib. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00322452.)

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Crossref · 10.1056/nejmoa0810699

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  • First-generation EGFR TKIs gefitinib and erlotinib have shown improved efficacy and tolerability compared with chemotherapy in phase III trials.

    “have shown improved efficacy and tolerability compared with chemotherapy in numerous phase III trials”

    From Afatinib for the treatment of <i>EGFR</i> mutation-positive NSCLC: A review of clinical findings (2020) · cites this paper as [31]

    The Results report better progression-free survival with gefitinib than with carboplatin–paclitaxel in the clinically selected trial population, and the Discussion reports lower rates of several chemotherapy-associated adverse effects. But this paper does not establish the same comparative benefit for erlotinib or across numerous phase III trials; it also reports better progression-free survival with chemotherapy in patients without an EGFR mutation. The indexed passages provide section labels but no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Reduced sensitivity to gefitinib or erlotinib in NSCLC was linked to EGFR-specific activating mutations.

    “Afterwards, studies revealed that the reduced sensitivity to gefitinib or erlotinib in NSCLC was linked to EGFR-specific activating mutations.112–116”
  • Eight randomised controlled phase III trials have demonstrated that first-generation or second-generation EGFR-TKIs represent the best first-line treatment option in patients with advanced NSCLC whose tumours harbour EGFR mutations, when compared with chemotherapy, because they significantly improved the RR and PFS.

    “Eight randomised controlled phase III trials (table 1) have demonstrated that first-generation or second-generation EGFR-TKIs represent the best first-line treatment option in patients with advanced NSCLC whose tumours harbour EGFR mutations, when compared with chemotherapy, because they significantly improved the RR and progression-free survival (PFS).4–11”
  • Patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC usually respond to first-generation TKIs but most progress after about 9-14 months.

    “Unfortunately, whilst patients with EGFRm+ tumors typically show good initial responses to first generation TKIs, most patients who respond to therapy ultimately develop disease progression after about 9-14 months of treatment (7-11).”
  • Duration of response, progression-free survival, and overall survival are even more variable across these trials.

    “Even more variable are duration of response to targeted therapy, progression-free survival and overall survival16–26, 28–32, 35.”

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Authors
Mok, T. S., Wu, Y.-L., Thongprasert, S., Yang, C.-H., Chu, D.-T., Saijo, N., Sunpaweravong, P., Han, B., Margono, B., Ichinose, Y., Nishiwaki, Y., Ohe, Y., Yang, J.-J., Chewaskulyong, B., Jiang, H., Duffield, E. L., Watkins, C. L., Armour, A. A., & Fukuoka, M.
Affiliations
  • Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
  • Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital (TH)
  • National Taiwan University Hospital (TW)
  • Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN)
  • National Cancer Center Hospital East (JP)
  • Prince of Songkla University (TH)
  • Shanghai Chest Hospital (CN)
  • Rumah Sakit Dokter Soetomo (ID)
  • National Hospital Organization Kyushu Cancer Center (JP)
  • National Cancer Center Hospital (JP)
  • Guangdong General Hospital (CN)
  • AstraZeneca (Japan) (JP)
  • AstraZeneca (United Kingdom) (GB)
  • Kindai University Hospital (JP)
Venue
New England Journal of Medicine
Published
2009-09-03
Volume
361
Issue
10
Pages
947-957
ISSN
  • 0028-4793 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-4406
OpenAlex
W2166084034
Cited by
8,261
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 188 · 2025: 268 · 2024: 238 · 2023: 317 · 2022: 373 · 2021: 408 · 2020: 474 · 2019: 529 · 2018: 545 · 2017: 615 · 2016: 601 · 2015: 693 · 2014: 674 · 2013: 656 · 2012: 623
FWCI
470.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • New England Journal of Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Lung Cancer Research Studies
Keywords
gefitinib, carboplatin, paclitaxel, lung adenocarcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, EGFR mutation, progression-free survival, first-line therapy, non-inferiority, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, East Asia, non-smokers, light smokers, neurotoxicity, neutropenia, hair loss
MeSH terms
Gefitinib, Adenocarcinoma, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antineoplastic Agents, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols, Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung, Female, Humans, Lung Neoplasms, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Quinazolines, Proportional Hazards Models, Carboplatin, Paclitaxel, Disease-Free Survival, Protein Kinase Inhibitors, Kaplan-Meier Estimate, ErbB Receptors

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