Background: No investigation of amrubicin monotherapy in pre-treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients has yet been reported.
Patients and methods: The records were reviewed of NSCLC patients who had received amrubicin monotherapy between 2003 and 2007 with the following eligibility criteria:previously treated with at least two regimens including platinum and docetaxel for non-adenocarcinoma patients and platinum, docetaxel and epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) for adenocarcinoma patients. Amrubicin was administered to both groups at 35 mg/m2 or 40 mg/m2 for 3 consecutive days, every 3 weeks.
Results: Thirty-nine patients were registered. The median number of prior chemotherapy regimens was three (range: 2 to 7). The median number of courses per patient was three (range one to 9). The toxicity profile was acceptable with no grade 3 or higher non-hematological toxicity. The overall response rate was 10.2%. The median survival time was 4.8 months.
Conclusion: Amrubicin exhibits activity and acceptable toxicity as third or subsequent line of chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC.