Efficacy of chemotherapy plus gefitinib treatment in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients following acquired resistance to gefitinib

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may exhibit oncogene addiction in patients who benefited from prior treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Preclinical data suggested that EGFR addiction persists after the development of TKI resistance, leading many clinicians to continue TKI treatment along with chemotherapy. However, this strategy has not been adequately evaluated in clinical practice. Patients who benefited from gefitinib followed by acquired resistance to this drug were reviewed in the Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. Patients were included if they received chemotherapy and gefitinib following failure of prior gefitinib treatment. A total of 26 patients were included in the present study. Six patients (23.1%) exhibited a partial response (PR), 13 (50%) achieved stable disease (SD) and 7 (26.9%) had progressive disease (PD) during the chemotherapy and gefitinib treatment. The disease control rate (DCR) was 73.1% and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.6 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.8-5.4]. The toxicities associated with gefitinib and chemotherapy were generally acceptable. In conclusion, continued concurrent gefitinib and chemotherapy may be a valuable strategy, with acceptable and well-tolerated toxicity. However, this treatment requires further investigation.