Cancer Treatment Today

Cetuximab is a drug specifically directed against the EGFR receptor. It is currently indicated for head and neck cancer and KRA wild type colorectal cancers, but there is significant evidence that it is of benefit for EGFR non-small cell lung cancers as well. The FLEX trial showed that the addition of cetuximab to cisplatin and vinorelbine significantly improved overall survival, compared with cisplatin and vinorelbine alone, in the first-line treatment of EGFR-expressing, advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The NCCN recommends this regimen as category 2B (NSCL-18.
Pirker R, Pereira JR, Szczesna A, von Pawel J, Krzakowski M, Ramlau R, Vynnychenko I, Park K, Yu CT, Ganul V, Roh JK, Bajetta E, O’Byrne K, de Marinis F, Eberhardt W, Goddemeier T, Emig M, Gatzemeier U; FLEX Study Team. Cetuximab plus chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (FLEX): an open-label randomised phase III trial. Lancet. 2009 May 2;373(9674):1525-31.

Pirker R, Pereira JR, von Pawel J, Krzakowski M, Ramlau R, Park K, de Marinis F, Eberhardt WE, Paz-Ares L, Störkel S, Schumacher KM, von Heydebreck A, Celik I, O’Byrne KJ. EGFR expression as a predictor of survival for first-line chemotherapy plus cetuximab in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: analysis of data from the phase 3 FLEX study. Lancet Oncol. 2012 Jan;13(1):33-42.

O’Byrne KJ, Gatzemeier U, Bondarenko I, Barrios C, Eschbach C, Martens UM, Hotko Y, Kortsik C, Paz-Ares L, Pereira JR, von Pawel J, Ramlau R, Roh JK, Yu CT, Stroh C, Celik I, Schueler A, Pirker R. Molecular biomarkers in non-small-cell lung cancer: a retrospective analysis of data from the phase 3 FLEX study. Lancet Oncol. 2011 Aug;12(8):795-805.

Gatzemeier U, von Pawel J, Vynnychenko I, Zatloukal P, de Marinis F, Eberhardt WE, Paz-Ares L, Schumacher KM, Goddemeier T, O’Byrne KJ, Pirker R. First-cycle rash and survival in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer receiving cetuximab in combination with first-line chemotherapy: a subgroup analysis of data from the FLEX phase 3 study. Lancet Oncol. 2011 Jan;12(1):30-7.