A phase II study of cetuximab and radiation in elderly and/or poor performance status patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (N0422)

Background: Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a disease of the elderly. Seeking a tolerable but effective regimen, we tested cetuximab + radiation in elderly and/or poor performance status patients with locally advanced NSCLC. Patients and methods: Older patients [≥65 years with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0, 1, or 2] or younger patients (performance status of 2) received cetuximab 400 mg/m² i.v. on day 1 followed by weekly cetuximab 250 mg/m² i.v. with concomitant radiation of 6000 cGy in 30 fractions. The primary end point was the percentage who lived 11+ months.Results: This 57-patient cohort had a median age (range) of 77 years (60-87), and 12 (21%) had a performance status of 2. Forty of 57 (70%) lived 11+ months, thus exceeding the anticipated survival rate of 50%. The median survival was 15.1 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 13.1-19.3 months], and the median time to cancer progression was 7.2 months (95% CI 5.8-8.6 months). No treatment-related deaths occurred, but 31 patients experienced grade 3+ adverse events, most commonly fatigue, anorexia, dyspnea, rash, and dysphagia, each of which occurred in <10% of patients.Conclusion: This combination merits further study in this group of patients.