Skin rash and good performance status (PS) predict improved survival with gefitinib for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

7097 Background: Gefitinib (Iressa®) is active as a single agent for the treatment of advanced NSCLC patients who have failed prior chemotherapy. For optimal utilization of gefitinib, effective methods to identify sub-sets of patients likely to benefit from treatment are necessary. We analyzed patients treated with gefitinib on an Expanded Access Program at our institutions to detect possible predictive factors for patient selection to future studies. Methods: Patients (N=178) with advanced NSCLC were treated with gefitinib (250 mg PO QD) upon progression from chemotherapy. Patients with ECOG PS of ≤ 2, adequate bone marrow, hepatic and renal function were eligible. Results: Baseline patient characteristics were: Median age: 68 years (range 29–100); males - 56%; Adenocarcinoma –49%, squamous –21%, bronchioloalveolar-6%, other –24%. Objective partial responses were noted in 4 (2.4%) and disease stabilization in 28 (17%) patients. The median survival (MS) was 6.1 months (95% CI 4.42–7.21) and median time to...