title: Comparison of Amrubicin and Weekly Cisplatin/Etoposide/Irinotecan in Patients With Relapsed Small-cell Lung Cancer.
abstract: Although several agents have been introduced for the treatment of relapsed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), there is still only limited evidence regarding second- and later-line chemotherapies for these patients.
  
  
  
  Consecutive patients with relapsed SCLC treated at the National Cancer Center Hospital between 2000 and 2014 were analyzed. Patients' characteristics and treatments to explore factors associated with the survival outcomes were reviewed.
  
  
  
  A total of 580 patients diagnosed as having SCLC received first-line chemotherapy/chemoradiotherapy, of which 343 (59%) received second-line chemotherapy. Among the 343 patients, 193, 148, and 2 patients were diagnosed sensitive relapse, refractory relapse, and relapse of unknown sensitivity status, respectively. Second-line chemotherapy regimens used were as follows: amrubicin (AMR) in 188 (55%) patients; weekly cisplatin/etoposide/irinotecan (PEI) in 56 (16%) patients; topotecan in 18 (5.2%) patients; others in 81 (24%) patients. In the analysis including all patients, the following outcomes were obtained for the patients treated with AMR and PEI, respectively: objective response rate: 51% and 73%; median progression-free survival: 4.5 and 4.2 months; median overall survival: 10.0 and 10.8 months. Multivariate analysis identified sensitive relapse to first-line treatment (vs. refractory relapse) (P = .007) and AMR as second-line treatment (vs. PEI) (P = .005) as independent favorable prognostic factors for survival.
  
  
  
  AMR showed a favorable trend compared with PEI in terms of the progression-free survival and feasibility in SCLC patients with relapsed disease. Based on our findings, we suggest that a randomized trial comparing AMR and PEI is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Medical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitomi Sumiyoshi
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Okuma
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: hhorinou@ncc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Hidehito
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Horinouchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitahara
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asao
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kuniko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sunami
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shintaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nokihara
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018943:Anthracyclines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002166:Camptothecin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D000077146:Irinotecan; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055752:Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018943:Anthracyclines; D005047:Etoposide; D000077146:Irinotecan; C055866:amrubicin; D002945:Cisplatin; D002166:Camptothecin
keywords: Amrubicin; Salvage chemotherapy; Second-line chemotherapy; Small cell lung cancer; Weekly cisplatin plus etoposide plus irinotecan