Purpose: Sorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor that targets the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK mitogenic signaling pathway and the angiogenic receptor tyrosine kinases, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 and platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta. We evaluated the antitumor response and tolerability of sorafenib in patients with relapsed or refractory, advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), most of whom had received prior platinum-based chemotherapy.
Patients and methods: This was a phase II, single-arm, multicenter study. Patients with relapsed or refractory advanced NSCLC received sorafenib 400 mg orally twice daily until tumor progression or an unacceptable drug-related toxicity occurred. The primary objective was to measure response rate.
Results: Of 54 patients enrolled, 52 received sorafenib. The predominant histologies were adenocarcinoma (54%) and squamous cell carcinoma (31%). No complete or partial responses were observed. Stable disease (SD) was achieved in 30 (59%) of the 51 patients who were evaluable for efficacy. Four patients with SD developed tumor cavitation. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 2.7 months, and median overall survival was 6.7 months. Patients with SD had a median PFS of 5.5 months. Major grades 3 to 4, treatment-related toxicities included hand-foot skin reaction (10%), hypertension (4%), fatigue (2%), and diarrhea (2%). Nine patients died within a 30-day period after discontinuing sorafenib, and one patient experienced pulmonary hemorrhage that was considered drug related. CONCLUSION Continuous treatment with sorafenib 400 mg twice daily was associated with disease stabilization in patients with advanced NSCLC. The broad activity of sorafenib and its acceptable toxicity profile suggest that additional investigation of sorafenib as therapy for patients with NSCLC is warranted.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00101413.