The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7253 p819
14 June 2003

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Meeting summaries  7 June   14 June

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Hard-to-treat lung cancer responds to single agent

Patients with bronchioloalveolar cell carcinoma (BAC), a form of non-small cell lung cancer normally resistant to chemotherapy, appear to benefit from treatment with erlotinib, a molecule that targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor pathway.

Out of 30 patients treated with erlotinib for one month, eight showed a partial response (objective response rate 27 per cent, 95 per cent confidence interval 13–44 per cent). Dr Vince Miller, Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Centre, New York, told conference participants: "It is encouraging to see this kind of activity with a single agent, particularly one with very modest toxicity."

The drug appears to be particularly effective in patients who have never smoked. Of the eight responders, five had never smoked, two smoked one pack a day for less than 10 years, and one was a former heavy smoker.

The Journal attended the 39th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held in Chicago, Illinois, from 31 May until 3 June, courtesy of Eli Lilly. It was attended by more than 25,000 cancer specialists