A prospective phase II study of induction erlotinib therapy in stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer.

7039 Background: Stage IIIA NSCLC represents a heterogeneous group of patients with ipsilateral mediastinal (N2) lymph nodes involvement. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) provide dramatic responses in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) carrying EGFR mutations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of induction EGFR-TKI therapy in IIIA-N2 NSCLC. Methods: Patients with resectable NSCLC of stage IIIA-N2 were assigned to either induction erlotinib arm or induction gemcitabine/carboplatin(GC) arm based on the EGFR mutations analysis (NCT00600587) . Study Design: Phase II, factorial Assignment, Safety/Efficacy; Primary outcome measures: Response to Induction Therapy; Estimated enrollment: 5 cases with partial response in the erlotinib arm. Results: From January 2008 till June 2011, 24 patients with IIIA-N2 NSCLC diagnosed by mediastinoscopy or PET/CT have been enrolled. Twelve cases with EGFR mutation were assigned to the erlotinib arm (30-4...