Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase II Trial of Sorafenib and Erlotinib or Erlotinib Alone in Previously Treated Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose Sorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, has shown preliminary activity in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with advanced NSCLC were treated with erlotinib with or without sorafenib in this multicenter phase II trial. Patients and Methods Key eligibility criteria included the following: stage IIIB or IV NSCLC; one to two prior regimens; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 2; and measurable disease. Patients were randomly assigned 2:1 to sorafenib (400 mg orally twice a day) plus erlotinib (150 mg orally daily) or placebo plus erlotinib and stratified by squamous/nonsquamous histology and prior bevacizumab. Treatment efficacy, measured by progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR), was compared. Treatment of 168 patients allowed detection of 40% improvement in the historical PFS of 2.2 months with single-agent erlotinib. Results One hundred sixty-eight patients enrolled from February 2008 to February 2009. Clinical characteristics of the t...