Erlotinib monotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: An effective approach with low toxicity

Background: Treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and particularly erlotinib (Tarceva) has been afield of intense research: This retrospective study was conducted to assess the efficacy of erlotinib and its impact on survival. Patients and Methods: Patients with stage IIIB or IV, advanced or recurrent metastatic NSCLC were included in the study and were administered erlotinib 150 mg daily, at different lines of treatment. Results: Thirty-six patients were included in the study: 29 (81%) male, 7 (19%) female. At the time of analysis, all patients had progressed and died. Median progression free survival (PFS) was 4 months +/- 2.43 months (range 0-8 months), whereas median overall survival (OS) was 7 months +/- 2.65 months (range 3-15 months). Patients with, ECOG performance status of 0 or 1 had better OS and significantly higher PFS rates. Overall response rate was 16.7%, while the disease control rate was 81%. Conclusion: Erlotinib is affective and well tolerated in pretreated patients with advanced NSCLC and a good performance status.