New drug helps older lung cancer patients

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A clinical trial shows that erlotinib is helpful for elderly patients with advanced lung cancer.
Erlotinib is a new kind of anti-cancer drug which blocks the growth signaling molecule known as epidermal growth factor receptor. It has found some success in treating those for whom conventional chemo has failed. Now, for the first time, it has been used as initial treatment in a group of elderly patients, with promising results.

Eighty patients being treated at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston all received erlotinib. They all had advanced non-small cell lung cancer and most were current or former smokers. While there were no complete responses to the drug, 60 per cent experienced a partial response or a stabilization of their disease. The researchers conclude that erlotinib looks promising in this age group and may be considered as a first line, rather than last resort, treatment option.

Source
European Respiratory Society meeting 18th September 2005