Abstract
In this study, we surveyed the efficacy of erlotinib for patients who had been previously treated with gefitinib. The subjects comprised non-small cell lung cancer patients being treated with erlotinib, who had previously been treated with gefitinib, at the Nagara Medical Center from March 2008 to February 2012. A total of 11 patients were included, 8 of whom discontinued gefitinib treatment because of disease progression and 3 of whom discontinued gefitinib treatment because of hepatic disorder. Improved condition and suppressed disease progression were observed in 3 patients. The minimum value of time to treatment failure (TTF) was 12 days and average TTF was more than 136 days. Three patients who discontinued gefitinib treatment because of hepatic disorder did not develop severe hepatic disorder with erlotinib treatment, and they were able to continue erlotinib treatment. The minimum value of TTF for these 3 patients was 182 days and the average TTF was more than 250 days. One patient had discontinued gefitinib treatment because of hepatic disorder; however, since switching to erlotinib, suppressed disease progression has been apparent for more than 1 year without developing hepatic disorder. In conclusion, erlotinib treatment is one option for patients previously treated with gefitinib.
