Phase II study of cetuximab in combination with carboplatin and docetaxel for patients with advanced/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

7643 Background: Cetuximab, a chimeric IgG1 monoclonal antibody against the external domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), has demonstrated single-agent activity against NSCLC. When administered in combination with carboplatin and docetaxel, a commonly used regimen for advanced NSCLC, cetuximab exhibits synergistic interaction in preclinical studies. Therefore, we conducted a phase II study to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of cetuximab, carboplatin, and docetaxel for the treatment of advanced NSCLC. Methods: Chemotherapy-naive patients = 18 years with histologically/cytologically confirmed stage IIIB (w/ effusion) or stage IV NSCLC received cetuximab (400 mg/m2 on day 1 and 250 mg/m2 on days 8 and 15) plus docetaxel (75 mg/m2 on day 1) and carboplatin (AUC=6 on day 1) every 21 days for up to 6 cycles. Thereafter, patients without evidence of disease progression (CR/PR/SD) were continued on single-agent cetuximab (250 mg/m2/week) for a maximum of 1 year or until disease progress...