Icotinib is an active treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer: a retrospective study

PLoS One. 2014 May 16;9(5):e95897. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095897. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Background: Icotinib hydrochloride is a novel epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with preclinical and clinical activity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This retrospective analysis was performed to assess the efficacy of icotinib on patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: 82 consecutive patients treated with icotinib as first (n = 24) or second/third line (n = 58) treatment at three hospitals in Nanjing were enrolled into our retrospective research. The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) was used to evaluate the tumor responses and the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: Median PFS was 4.0 months (95% CI 2.311-5.689). Median OS was 11.0 months (95% CI 8.537-13.463) in this cohort. Median PFS for first and second/third line were 7.0 months (95% CI 2.151-11.8) and 3.0 months (95% CI 1.042-4.958), respectively. Median OS for first and second/third line were 13.0 months (95% CI 10.305-15.695) and 10.0 months (95% CI 7.295-12.70), respectively. In patients with EGFR mutation (n = 19), icotinib significantly reduced the risk of progression (HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.18-0.70, p = 0.003) and death (HR 0.10, 95% CI 0.02-0.42, p = 0.002) compared with those EGFR status unknown (n = 63). The most common adverse events were acne-like rash (39.0%) and diarrhea (20.7%).

Conclusions: Icotinib is active in the treatment of patients with NSCLC both in first or second/third line, especially in those patients harbouring EGFR mutations, with an acceptable adverse event profile.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / drug therapy*
  • China
  • Crown Ethers / therapeutic use*
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • ErbB Receptors / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Humans
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Middle Aged
  • Quinazolines / therapeutic use*
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Crown Ethers
  • Quinazolines
  • icotinib
  • ErbB Receptors

Grants and funding

This work was partly supported by the Program for Development of Innovative Research Teams, by Jiangsu Province Clinical Science and Technology Projects (Clinical Research Center, BL 2012008), and by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) and by Provincial Initiative Program for Excellency Disciplines, Jiangsu Province, China. No additional external funding was received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.