Final results of a randomized, double-blind, phase II study of gemcitabine plus vandetanib or plus placebo in the treatment of advanced (stage IIIB/IV) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) elderly patients (ZELIG study NCT00753714).

7550 Background: Vandetanib (V) is a once-daily oral inhibitor of VEGFR, EGFR and RET signaling. Single-agent gemcitabine (G) is a standard of care option for unselected patients (pts) unfit for doublet platinum based chemotherapy. This study assessed the progression-free survival (PFS) benefit of G+V compared to G plus placebo (P) in pts with advanced NSCLC aged ≥ 70 years. Methods: Eligible pts (stage IIIB/IV NSCLC; WHO PS 0-2; all histologies; chemonaive, aged ≥70) were randomized 1:1 to receive G 1200 mg/m2 i.v. day 1 and 8 of each 21-day cycle, up to 6 cycles plus V 100 mg/day or plus P until progression/toxicity. The primary objective was PFS (80% power to detect a hazard ratio [HR] ≤ 0.667). Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety. Results: Between Oct 2008-May 2010, 124 pts (median age 75 yrs (70-84); 72.6% male; 57.2% WHO PS 0-1; 74.2% past/never-smoker; 58.1% adenocarcinoma; 89.5% stage IV) were randomized to G+V (...