Phase 1/2 study of ceritinib in Chinese patients with advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer previously treated with crizotinib: Results from ASCEND-6.

Background: Patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-rearranged (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with crizotinib inevitably relapse, with brain as common site of progression.

Patients And Methods: ASCEND-6, a phase 1/2, single-arm study, included adult Chinese patients with stage IIIB or IV ALK+ NSCLC pretreated with crizotinib as the last therapy (irrespective of prior chemotherapies [≤2]). Primary endpoints were pharmacokinetics (PK), safety, and tolerability.

Clinical outcomes of EGFR-TKI treatment and genetic heterogeneity in lung adenocarcinoma patients with EGFR mutations on exons 19 and 21.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, including a known exon 19 deletion (19 del) and exon 21 L858R point mutation (L858R mutation), are strong predictors of the response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) treatment in lung adenocarcinoma. However, whether patients carrying EGFR 19 del and L858R mutations exhibit different responsiveness to EGFR-TKIs and what are the potential mechanism for this difference remain controversial. This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of EGFR-TKI treatment in patients with EGFR 19 del and L858R mutations and explore the genetic heterogeneity of tumors with the two mutation subtypes.

Analysis of BIM (BCL-2 like 11 gene) deletion polymorphism in Chinese non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Background: Drug resistance significantly weakens the efficacy of cancer treatment, and the BIM (also known as the BCL2L11 gene) deletion polymorphism has been identified as a potential biomarker for drug resistance. In this retrospective study, we included a total of 290 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) and chemotherapy.

Methods: The BIM deletion polymorphism of each patient was detected by polymerase chain reaction.

Rechallenge with pemetrexed-based chemotherapy improves the survival of patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

Rechallenge chemotherapy with pemetrexed was shown to be efficient in malignant pleural mesothelioma; however, its role in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been investigated. In this study, we retrospectively enrolled 31 patients with non-squamous NSCLC who had achieved disease control with initial pemetrexed treatment, followed by rechallenge with pemetrexed-based chemotherapy (PBC) upon disease progression. After the rechallenge, 5 patients (16.

[Prognosis related clinical and molecular factors in malignant pleural mesothelioma].

Objective: To identify potential prognosis related clinical and molecular factors in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

Methods: Seventy-nine patients with MPM treated in Beijing Cancer Hospital from June 1996 to May 2012 were enrolled in this study. Clinical and pathological data were collected, including age, gender, smoking status, treatment, response, and molecular biomarkers such as thymidylate synthetase (TS) expression, echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (EML4-ALK) gene rearrangement.

[Correlation between the efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and EGFR mutations in advanced squamous cell lung cancer].

Objective: To investigate the frequency of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and their correlation with the efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) in advanced squamous cell lung cancer.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 79 patients with advanced squamous cell lung cancer who received EGFR-TKI at Department of Thoracic Medical Oncology in Peking University Cancer Hospital from June 2004 to June 2011. Among them, 67 patients had tissue and/or plasma EGFR exon 19 and 21 mutation detection in order to make an analysis on the relationship between EGFR mutation and the TKI's effect.

[Effect of pemetrexed plus platinum for chemotherapy-naive advanced non-small cell lung cancer].

Objective: To evaluate the effect of pemetrexed plus platinum for chemotherapy-naive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to explore thymidylate synthetase (TS) expression as the predictive and prognostic factor for this treatment.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 51 patients with chemotherapy-naive advanced NSCLC (non-squamous) treated at Department of Thoracic Medical Oncology in Beijing Cancer Hospital from Jan 2008 to Oct 2009. All patients received pemetrexed plus platinum as first-line treatment.

Epidermal growth factor receptor genotype in plasma DNA and outcome of chemotherapy in the Chinese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The genotype of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is associated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor and effectiveness of therapy, but its role in cytotoxic chemotherapy is still unknown. Previous studies indicated that certain EGFR mutations were associated with response and progression free survival following platinum based chemotherapy. Our recent studies have identified that EGFR genotypes in the tumour tissues were not associated with response to the first-line chemotherapy in Chinese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Immediate Versus Delayed Treatment with EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors after First-line Therapy in Advanced Non-small-cell Lung CANCER.

Objective: To analyze the outcomes of patients who received TKI immediately after the first-line without progression as maintenance treatment (immediate group) vs. those received delayed treatment upon disease progression as second-line therapy (delayed group).

Methods: The study included 159 no-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who received gefitinib or erlotinib as maintenance treatment in the immediate group (85 patients) or as second-line therapy in the delayed group (74 patients).

[A retrospective analysis: comparison of the clinical characteristics and prognosis in elderly and young patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.].

Objective: To investigate whether the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities and prognosis of elderly (>/= 70 years) patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) differed from those of young (
Methods: This retrospective study included 256 elderly patients and 143 young patients with chemotherapy-naive advanced NSCLC treated at Department of Thoracic Medical Oncology in Beijing Cancer Hospital from March 1995 to May 2007. All patients received first-line chemotherapy.

Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in plasma DNA samples predict tumor response in Chinese patients with stages IIIB to IV non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase domain can predict tumor response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, obtaining tumor tissues for mutation analysis is challenging. We hypothesized that plasma-based EGFR mutation analysis is feasible and has value in predicting tumor response in patients with NSCLC.

[The detection by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography of epidermal growth factor receptor mutation in tissue and peripheral blood from patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer].

Objective: To study the application of denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) as a screening tool in detecting plasma and matched tissue epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Plasma DNA samples and matched tumors from 230 cases of NSCLC were analyzed for EGFR mutations in exons 19 and 21 using DHPLC. The mutations in the plasma samples and the matched tumors were compared, and the association between EGFR mutations and the clinicopathological features were evaluated.

[Distinguishing second primary tumors from lung metastasis in patients with postoperative non-small cell lung cancer by microsatellite analysis].

Objective: In patients with resected early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), intrapulmonary solitary tumor represents either second primary tumor (SPT) or a metastasis. This study is to discern SPT from lung metastasis in patients with postoperative NSCLC followed a solitary intrapulmonary tumor by microsatellite analysis.

Methods: Twenty-one patients with stage I - III(A) NSCLC resected by surgery during 1994.

[Gefitinib in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer].

Objective: To investigate the efficacy, time to progression, survival time and toxicity of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor Gefitinib (Iressa), a target therapy agent, in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to analyze the factors affecting the efficacy and patients' survival.

Methods: From Nov. 2003 to May 2005, 91 patients with advanced NSCLC who failed from previous first-line chemotherapy were treated by gefitinib in this trial with a median chemotherapy cycle of six.

[Primary assessment of treatment effect of thymosin alpha1 on chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity].

Background & Objective: Clinical trails showed that thymosin alpha1 offers protection from toxicities (nausea, vomiting, fatigue) of chemotherapy. This study was designed to investigate the protection of thymosin alpha1 to nervous system.

Methods: Twenty-two patients with advanced lung cancer, or advanced breast cancer were treated with vinorelbine (25 mg/m(2), d(1), d(8)) combined with cisplatin (80 mg/m(2), d(1)), or gemcitabine (1.