Skin rash and good performance status predict improved survival with gefitinib in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Background: Gefitinib (Iressa (R)) is active as a single agent in the treatment of select patients with recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The clinical characteristics of patients treated with gefitinib on an Expanded Access Program (EAP) at our institution identified predictive variables associated with better outcome. Patients and methods: Patients (n = 199) with advanced NSCLC were treated with gelitinib (250 mg) upon progression with chemotherapy. Baseline patient characteristics were: median age, 69 years males, 57% adenocarcinoma, 56%. Results: Partial responses were noted in two patients (1%) and disease stabilization in 66 (35%) patients. The median survival (MS) was 5.9 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.1-7.1] and median time to progression was 3 months (95% Cl 2.0-3.0). The predictive factors analyzed were gender, skin rash, diarrhea, tumor histology and performance status (PS). Patients who developed skin rash (any grade) had MS of 10.8 months versus 4.0 months for those without rash (P < 0.0001, log rank test). Patients with PS 0, 1 and 2 had MS of 8.4, 6.2 and 2.8 months, respectively (P < 0.0002). The other factors did not impact survival. Conclusions: Occurence of skin rash and baseline PS of 0/1 were associated with improved survival with gefitinib for recurrent NSCLC patients at our institution.