The tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib (Tarceva®) showed encouraging activity with relatively tolerable side effects in elderly, previously untreated patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), reports a team led by investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The uncontrolled, Phase II results are sufficiently promising to merit a Phase III trial comparing erlotinib with single-agent navelbine in this population, the researchers say. The findings will be presented at the 15th Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society in Copenhagen, Denmark.
