Lung cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Brain metastases manifest as the first site of disease failure in between 15-30% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The standard treatment for patients with multiple brain metastases is whole brain radiotherapy but this results in only a modest survival of 3-6 months. Drugs that can enhance the effect of cranial irradiation (radiosensitizers) may improve the the response rates. Erlotinib (Tarceva) is an oral agent that has been registered for treatment in patients with metastatic NSCLC. Erlotinib has shown tumor activity in patients presenting with brain metastases, and preclinical studies show that it may be a radiosensitizer. As a prelude to studies investigating the combination of Erlotinib and cranial radiotherapy, the present study will be performed to evaluate the safety of combining both these treatments.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
11
Level 1 : erlotinib 100 mg/day from day -7 to the time of completion of 10 fractions of cranial irradiation, followed by 150 mg/day until disease progression or toxicity Level 2 : erlotinib 150 mg/day from day -7 before cranial irradiation, followed by 150 mg/day until disease progression or toxicity
VU University Medical Center
Amsterdam, Netherlands
To establish the safety of concurrent palliative whole brain radiotherapy and two doses of erlotinib in patients with brain metastases from NSCLC
Time frame: Until death
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