BACKGROUNDTo summarize the clinical results of Iressa in the treatment of patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who failed prior chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

METHODSTwenty-nine patients with NSCLC, who failed prior chemotherapy and radiotherapy, were registered in this open clinical trial. Prior to Iressa therapy, 26 patients were in stage IV, 3 patients in stage IIIB. Iressa was administered orally at 250 mg, once a day until cancer progressed or severe toxicity occured. The median time for administration of Iressa was 5 months.

RESULTSThe main toxicity of Iressa was skin toxicity (rash). Twelve cases had rash with 41.4% of the whole group. Two cases had diarrhea, 1 case had bradycardia and 1 case had elevation of transaminase. Among the 29 patients, one patient got complete response (CR), 7 partial response (PR), 12 stable disease (SD) and 9 progression disease (PD). The response rate was 27.59% and disease control rate including both tumor response and stable disease was 68.97%. The median survival time was 5.5 months (1-19 months). Median time to progression (TTP) was 6.5 months. The 1-year survival rate was 44.83%.

CONCLUSIONSIressa is effective and tolerable for the patients with NSCLC who failed prior chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It can remarkably improve symptoms and prolong survival time of NSCLC patients.