Clinical Effectiveness of Erlova in EGFR-Mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: An Affordable Price with Clinical Benefit

Background: Thyrosin kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is approved for the first line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with  epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. This study performed to assess clinical effectiveness and safety of Erlova (generic form of Erlotinib). Methods: Somatic mutations of EGFR gene were studied in tumor tissue by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and bi-directional sequencing in 513 chemonaive and histologically verified lung adenocarcinoma Iranian patients. Patients  with EGFR mutation received Erlova at 150 mg/day  as first line treatment. Primary endpoint was progression free survival (PFS). Results: About 21% (n=109) cases had EGFR mutation. Most EGFR mutations were  occurred at exon 19. Among them, sixty nine patients treated with Erlova. Median PFS was 11.4 months and objective response rate (ORR) was about  88%. Most frequent treatment related adverse events was  skin rash. Conclusion: Our findings showed Erlova had remarkable effectiveness. In  mutation-positive patients with EGFR, Erlova can be used  safely instead of  other tyrosine-kinase inhibitors.     

Are erlotinib and gefitinib interchangeable,opposite or complementary for non-small cell lung cancer treatment? Biological,pharmacological and clinical aspects

Gefitinib and erlotinib are the two anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) approved for treatment of advanced NSCLC patients. These drugs target one of the most important pathways in lung carcinogenesis and are able to exploit the phenomenon of ‘oncogene addiction’, with different efficacy according to EGFR gene mutational status in tumor samples. Gefitinib has been approved only for EGFR mutation bearing patients regardless the line of treatment, while erlotinib is also indicated in patients without EGFR mutation who undergo second- or third-line treatment. Some studies evaluated the main differences between these drugs both for direct comparison and to improve their sequential use. In particular, toxicity profile resulted partially different, and these observations may be explained by several molecular and pharmacokinetic features. Therefore, this review integrates preclinical data with clinical evidences of TKIs to guide the optimization of currently available treatments in advanced NSCLC patients.     

二甲双胍对肺腺癌耐厄洛替尼细胞株A549ER的耐药逆转作用

目的 探讨二甲双胍对人肺腺癌耐厄洛替尼细胞株A549ER的耐药逆转作用.方法 将人肺腺癌细胞株A549细胞设为亲本组;将耐厄洛替尼细胞株A549ER细胞分为空白对照组、厄洛替尼组、二甲双胍组和联合用药组（厄洛替尼±二甲双胍组）,采用CCK8法检测不同浓度药物作用下各组细胞的50％抑制浓度（IC50）,计算耐药倍数和逆转倍数.采用流式细胞术检测各组A549ER细胞的凋亡率和细胞周期,计算增殖指数.结果 在0 ～ 20 mmol/L浓度范围内,二甲双胍对A549细胞及A549ER细胞均有生长抑制作用,抑制率随二甲双胍浓度升高而增加.厄洛替尼对A549细胞和A549ER的IC50分别为15.15 μmol/L和118.8 μmol/L,A549ER的耐药倍数为7.84.联合用药组A549ER细胞IC50为73.55 umol/L,耐药倍数为4.85.二甲双胍对A549ER厄洛替尼耐药性的逆转倍数为1.62.空白对照组、厄洛替尼组、二甲双胍组和联合用药组的凋亡率分别为（5.53±3.00）％、（7.51±3.73）％、（10.25 ±4.23）％和（16.92±1.20）％.根据细胞周期结果计算空白对照组、厄洛替尼组、二甲双胍组和联合用药组的增殖指数分别为0.84±0.15、0.78 ±0.10、0.73±0.08和0.60 ±0.09.结论 A549ER细胞较A549细胞对厄洛替尼有明显的耐药性;二甲双胍对A549ER细胞厄洛替尼的耐药性具有逆转作用;二甲双胍通过抑制细胞生长、促进细胞凋亡、减缓细胞周期进程等途径逆转A549ER细胞耐药.     

表皮生长因子受体抑制剂在非小细胞肺癌治疗中的研究进展

化疗一直是晚期非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)的主要治疗手段之一,但是治疗的有效率仅为30％左右,且具有较大的不良反应,耐药和血液学的不良反应是患者预后不良的主要原因之一.随着分子生物标记如表皮生长因子受体(EGFR)等的发现和相应靶向药物的研发与批准应用,肺癌的治疗正在发生重大变化.大量研究证实EGFR抑制剂靶向治疗能改善NSCLC患者的疾病无进展期和生活质量,而正确的选择合适的患者是靶向治疗成功的关键.本文将对EGFR的组成及活化、检测方法、EGFR靶向药物在NSCLC治疗中的作用以及获得性耐药患者的治疗进展进行综述.     

DC-CIK细胞联合EGFR-TKI治疗35例老年晚期EGFR突变肺癌的效果

目的 探讨树突状细胞-细胞因子诱导的杀伤细胞(DC-CIK)联合表皮生长因子受体酪氨酸激酶抑制剂(EGRF-TKI)治疗老年晚期表皮生长因子受体(EGFR)突变肺癌的临床疗效。 方法 将70例Ⅳ期EGFR突变肺癌患者分为治疗组和对照组。治疗组35例,给予DC-CIK细胞治疗联合吉非替尼或厄洛替尼靶向治疗;对照组35例,给予吉非替尼或厄洛替尼靶向治疗。 结果 治疗组的疾病控制率(DCR)为88.6%,高于对照组的68.6%(P=0.041),治疗组生活质量评分改善率为71.4%,高于对照组的45.7%(P=0.029),差异均有统计学意义。治疗组和对照组的1年、2年和3年总生存(OS)率分别为62.9% vs 57.1%、37.1% vs 31.4%和8.6% vs 2.9%,两组比较差异无统计学意义(P=0.217)。治疗组和对照组的1年、2年和3年无进展生存(PFS)率分别为57.1% vs 31.4%、20.0% vs 5.7%和2.9% vs 0%,两组差异有统计学意义(P=0.005)。多因素分析显示,腺癌(HR=0.178,95%CI:0.061~0.523)及高分化(HR=0.058,95%CI:0.015~0.228)患者OS更长,腺癌(HR=0.271,95%CI:0.094~0.777)及高分化(HR=0.089,95%CI:0.029~0.272)患者PFS也更长。治疗组和对照组不良反应发生率差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。 结论 DC-CIK细胞联合EGRF-TKI可以提高晚期老年EGFR突变肺癌患者的疾病控制率和生活质量,延长患者的PFS。     

Tamoxifen enhances erlotinib-induced cytotoxicity through down-regulating AKT-mediated thymidine phosphorylase expression in human non-small-cell lung cancer cells

Tamoxifen is a triphenylethylene nonsteroidal estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist used worldwide as an adjuvant hormone therapeutic agent in the treatment of breast cancer. However, the molecular mechanism of tamoxifen-induced cytotoxicity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells has not been identified. Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) is an enzyme of the pyrimidine salvage pathway which is upregulated in cancers. In this study, tamoxifen treatment inhibited cell survival in two NSCLC cells, H520 and H1975. Treatment with tamoxifen decreased TP mRNA and protein levels through AKT inactivation. Furthermore, expression of constitutively active AKT (AKT-CA) vectors significantly rescued the decreased TP protein and mRNA levels in tamoxifen-treated NSCLC cells. In contrast, combination treatment with PI3K inhibitors (LY294002 or wortmannin) and tamoxifen further decreased the TP expression and cell viability of NSCLC cells. Knocking down TP expression by transfection with small interfering RNA of TP enhanced the cytotoxicity and cell growth inhibition of tamoxifen. Erlotinib (Tarceva, OSI-774), an orally available small molecular inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase, is approved for clinical treatment of NSCLC. Compared to a single agent alone, tamoxifen combined with erlotinib resulted in cytotoxicity and cell growth inhibition synergistically in NSCLC cells, accompanied with reduced activation of phospho-AKT and phospho-ERK1/2, and reduced TP protein levels. These findings may have implications for the rational design of future drug regimens incorporating tamoxifen and erlotinib for the treatment of NSCLC.