title: [Gefitinib in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer with brain metastasis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Brain metastasis is frequently found in patient with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Gefitinib is a inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor and can be used for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the antitumor efficacy of Gefitinib in advanced NSCLC patients with brain metastasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-four consecutive NSCLC patients with brain metastases were treated with gefitinib, which was administered orally at daily dose of 250 mg. Of these patients, 30 had been treated with WBRT and 42 received chemotherapy one month before enrolled into the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Partial response (PR) was observed in 14 patients (31.8%), stable disease (SD) in 21 (47.7%) with an overall disease control rate of 79.5%. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 9 months and median overall survival (OS) was 13.0 months. The difference in disease control rate between the patients who had previous WBRT and those without was not significant (P = 0.566). The toxicity is mild and tolerable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data shows that Gefitinib is safe and may be effective on brain metastasis, which may become an alternative treatment option for the patient with advanced NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory diseases, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China.
authors.forename: Chi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Long-Yun
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Meng-Zhao
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiao-Tong
authors.initials: XT
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Shu-Lan
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hua-Zhu
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000556:secondary; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000139:chemically induced; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D005076:Exanthema / Q000139:chemically induced; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D000077156:Gefitinib; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011799:Quinazolines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011799:Quinazolines; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D000077156:Gefitinib