Objectives: Sorafenib and erlotinib are potent, orally administered receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors with antiproliferative and antiangiogenic activities. Given their synergistic activity in combination, we conducted a phase II study to determine the clinical activity of sorafenib in combination with erlotinib in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Materials and methods: Patients with advanced NSCLC who have received one or two prior chemotherapy regimens for metastatic disease, ECOG 0-2, and adequate organ function were eligible. Patients received 400mg twice daily sorafenib and 150 mg daily erlotinib in 28-day cycles. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutation and its downstream pathways were analyzed from available tumor samples. Changes in plasma cytokine and angiogenic factors were correlated with clinical outcomes.
Results: A total of 46 patients were enrolled. Twenty patients (43%) were never smokers and 35 patients (75%) had adenocarcinoma histology. The overall response rate was 30.4%. Response to sorafenib/erlotinib was observed more commonly in patients with EGFR mutation than in those with EGFR wild type (WT) or EGFR unknown tumors (62.5% vs. 6.7% vs. 34.8%; P=0.013). Likewise, DCR was higher among patients with EGFR mutation than in those with EGFR WT or EGFR unknown tumors (87.5% vs. 46.7% vs. 60.9%; P=0.161). The most frequent adverse events (AEs) of all grades were hand-foot skin reaction (67.4%) followed by acneiform rash (58.7%).
Conclusion: Sorafenib combined with erlotinib is well-tolerated with manageable toxicity and appears to be effective against advanced NSCLC with one or two prior line of systemic treatment (NCT00801385).
Keywords: Erlotinib; Non-small-cell lung cancer; Sorafenib.
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