Gefitinib exposure and occurrence of interstitial lung disease in Japanese patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

Purpose A prospective, multicenter, large-scale cohort with a nested case-control study (NCT00252759) was conducted to identify and quantify risk factors for interstitial lung disease (ILD) in Japanese patients with non-small-cell lung cancer who received gefitinib. This study reports the association between gefitinib exposure and the occurrence of ILD. Methods A total of 1891 gefitinib plasma concentrations from 336 patients were measured after first dose, at steady state, and at time of ILD occurrence. Influences of demographic and pathophysiological factors on pharmacokinetics were investigated by non-linear mixed-effect modeling. The exposure to gefitinib was compared between patients without and with ILD occurrence to explore risks associated with gefitinib-induced ILD. Intra-patient comparison of exposure was also conducted between times at ILD development and normal states. Results In the population pharmacokinetic analysis for gefitinib, alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein (AGP), age, body weight, and concomitant use of cytochrome P450 3A4 inducers were significant covariates on oral clearance (CL/F). AGP and body weight were also identified as factors affecting the volume of distribution. CL/F was significantly lower at the time of ILD occurrence than normal states. Patients who developed ILD tended to show higher exposure to gefitinib than those without ILD; however, these differences were not statistically significant. On the other hand, exposure at the time of ILD occurrence was significantly elevated compared to the time of normal state within the same patients. Conclusions Significant elevation of exposure of gefitinib was observed at the time of ILD occurrence, suggesting reduction of CL/F could be associated with ILD-induced AGP elevation. Increase in exposure of gefitinib is unlikely to be a robust predictor of ILD and does not warrant any dose modifications.