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Purpose To investigate the efficacy and safety of an active cellular immunotherapy (DCVAC/LuCa) and chemotherapy in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and Methods SLU01 was a multicenter, open-label, parallel-group, randomized, phase I/II trial. NSCLC patients were randomized in a ratio of 1:1:1 to receive: DCVAC/LuCa and chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel; Group A); DCVAC/LuCa, chemotherapy, pegylated interferon-α2b, and hydroxychloroquine (Group B); or chemotherapy alone (Group C). DCVAC/LuCa was administered subcutaneously every 3–6 weeks (up to 15 doses). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). During the study, enrollment into Group B was discontinued for strategic reasons. Results Forty-five patients were randomized to Group A, 29 patients to Group B, and 38 patients to Group C. The median OS in the modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population was 3.7 months longer in Group A than in Group C (15.5 vs. 11.8 months; p = 0.0179; hazard ratio = 0.54; 95% confidence interval: 0.32–0.91). This OS effect was consistent across subgroups of the mITT population (females, males, current smokers, former smokers, and patients with non-squamous and squamous cell histology). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade reported in Groups A, B, and C, respectively, were neutropenia (50.0%, 29.6%, and 20.6%), fatigue (40.0%, 18.5%, and 20.6%), anemia (35.0%, 44.4%, and 32.4%), paresthesia (27.5%, 25.9%, and 17.6%), and alopecia (25.0%, 29.6%, and 41.2%). Conclusion DCVAC/LuCa in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel extended OS and was well tolerated.

Summary Background In the treatment of advanced cancer, a physician's ability to accurately identify a patient's attitude towards treatment is critical. This paper describes the extent of any differences observed between patient attitudes towards chemotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as assessed by patients themselves versus their physicians. Patients and methods Patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC who received gemcitabine plus cisplatin or carboplatin were enrolled into this prospective observational study. Patients and their physicians completed questionnaires containing descriptions of seven patient-specific attitudes. A pre-defined algorithm was used to categorize patients into one of the three ‘need' categories based on the questionnaire responses: (A) "maximum extension of survival with acceptance of high toxicity", (B) "maximum extension of survival only if coupled with normal life style", and (C) "relief of symptoms". Each patient was categorized based on his own response, as well as his physician's response. Results A total of 1895 patients were enrolled from 19 countries across 3 continents. Data from 1884 patients were analysed. Based on patient versus physician responses, respectively, the distribution of patients was 60% versus 39% in need category A, 26% versus 33% in B, and 14% versus 29% in C. Patient self-assessed versus physician-assessed need category identification was aligned for 891 patients (47.3%): 541 (29%) in A, 218 (12%) in B, 132 (7%) in C. While there was slight agreement between the identification of ‘need' categories by physicians and patients (kappa=0.18, 95% CI: 0.15–0.21), physicians also tended to place patients further down the scale (towards C) than patients placed themselves ( P Conclusions Patients have varying needs from cancer chemotherapy and it may not always be correctly identified by the treating physician. Physicians may underestimate patient's desire for extended survival compared with symptom relief.

Characteristics of NSCLC Patients Treated in First Line Treatment with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKI) - Real Data from the Czech Republic.

The Czech Tarceva Register collects data concerning all NSCLC patients treated with erlotinib in the Czech Republic. Increasing number of classified patients makes possible to analyze factors influencing the treatment results.

The Czech Republic has had an opportunity to use pemetrexed for 1st line treatment of advanced NSCLC from the year 2008. The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the activity and feasibility of pemetrexed in 1st line treatment NSCLC patients.

Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most aggressive tumours with unsatisfactory prognosis and extremely high mortality. Pemetrexed and platinum became one of the therapeutic options in advanced NSCLC in routine practice. It is recommended both in the 1st and 2nd lines of chemotherapy.

This analysis, The Czech Republic experience with erlotinib in the treatment of a non-selected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) population of 2365 patients, presented examines data obtained from the Czech population of NSCLC pts who received erlotinib.

Targeted biological therapy with inhibitors of tyrosine kinases is one of the therapeutic modality therapies of advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These drugs block activation cascade of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The sensitivity of tumor cells to tyrosine kinase inhibitors increases the “activating” mutations of tyrosine kinase domain and, especially, deletion in exon 19 or point mutation in exon 21.