Chemotherapy and Erlotinib for Lung Cancer With Low Abundance Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation

This is a single arm phase II clinical trial, which aims to evaluate the effectiveness of intercalated combination of doublet chemotherapy of paclitaxel plus carboplatin and erlotinib on patients with advanced stage non-small-cell lung cancer with low abundant activating EGFR mutation.

Primary therapy stage:

Paclitaxel Patients receive six cycles of Paclitaxel (175 mg/m² on days 1 of a 4 week cycle, intravenously) plus carboplatin (AUC=5, intravenously on day 1 of a 4 week cycle, intravenously) with sequential erlotinib (150 mg/day) on days 8-21 of each cycle.

Maintenance therapy stage:

Patients, who complete 6 cycles of therapy without progression or intolerable toxicity, receive erlotinib (150 mg/day) as maintenance therapy until progression, intolerable toxicity or death.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:Patients with histologically documented, locally advanced or recurrent (stage IIIb and not amenable to combined modality treatment) or metastatic (stage IV) non-small cell lung cancer.

Low abundant activating EGFR mutation: EGFR exon 19 deletion or exon 21 L858R, which are positive by real-time PCR methods and negative by standard sequencing methods.

Uncommon EGFR mutations are included excluding exon 20 mutations. ECOG performance status of ≤ 2. Patients can administer first line setting of platinum based chemotherapy. Patients must have measurable disease according to the RECIST (version 1.1) criteria.

* Life expectancy of at least 12 weeks.
* Age ≥ 18 years.
* Written (signed) informed Consent to participate in the study.
* Adequate organ function as defined by the following criteria:

Liver function: SGOT (AST) and SGPT (ALT) ≤ 2.5 X ULN in the absence of liver metastases or up to 5 X ULN in case of liver metastases. Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5ULN.

Bone marrow function: Granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm3 and platelet count ≥100,000/mm3 and hemoglobin ≥90g/dl.

Renal function: serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 ULN or creatinine clearance ≥ 60 ml/min. (based on modified Cockcroft-Gault formula).

* For all females of childbearing potential a negative serum/urine pregnancy test must be obtained within 48 hours before enrollment. Postmenopausal women must have been amenorrhoeic for at least 12 months to be considered of non-childbearing potential.

Exclusion Criteria:Patients with prior chemotherapy or systemic anti-cancer therapy including target therapy targeting HER family members (such as erlotinib, gefitinib, cetuximab, trastuzumab, etc). Previous adjuvant or neo-adjuvant treatment for non-metastatic disease is permitted if completed ≥ 6 months before the enrollments.

* Patients with history of any other malignancies within 5 years (except for adequately treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix or basal or squamous cell skin cancer).
* Patients who have brain metastasis or spinal cord compression. It is permitted if the patient has been treated with surgery and/or radiation with evidence of stable disease for at least 4 weeks.
* Patients who are at risk (in the investigator's opinion) of transmitting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through blood or other body fluids.
* Nursing or lactating women.
* Sexually active males and females (of childbearing potential) unwilling to practice contraception during the study.
* Unwilling to write informed consent to participate in the study.
* Patients who is unwilling to accept the follow-up.