title: Efficacy of icotinib in lung squamous-cell cancer: A real-world experience from single institution.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Squamous cell carcinoma is a less common type of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) which associates with a poor clinical prognosis and lacks specific therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of icotinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has proven to be effective in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, in patients with lung squamous-cell cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis was conducted in patients who had advanced lung squamous-cell cancer confirmed by cytology or histology. Patients were treated orally with icotinib (125 mg, three times daily) until event of unacceptable toxicity, disease progression or death. The primary endpoint was overall survival. The secondary endpoints were progression-free survival, overall response rate and disease control rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between January 2014 and May 2016, 20 patients were enrolled and evaluated for the efficacy and safety of icotinib. Overall, the median overall survival and progression-free survival were 9.93 months (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.46-16.40) and 3.0 months (95% CI: 0.00-8.35), respectively. The overall response rate and disease control rate were 20% and 70%, respectively. For treatment-naive patients (n = 11), the overall survival and progression-free survival were 9.93 months (95% CI: 0.00-23.49) and 6.27 months (95% CI: 0.00-12.61); the response rate and disease control rate were 27.3% and 54.5%, respectively. The overall survival and progression-free survival of patients treated with second- or multiple-line icotinib treatment (n = 9) were 6.5 months (95% CI: 0.80-12.20) and 1.2 months (95% CI: 1.10-1.30). A total of 11 patients experienced at least one treatment-related adverse event, most of which were mild to moderate. The most common manifestations were rash (n = 6, 30%) followed by diarrhea (n = 2, 10%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Icotinib has demonstrated a favorable efficacy and safety profile in patients with advanced lung squamous-cell cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Clinical Study on Anticancer Molecular Targeted Drugs, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Clinical Study on Anticancer Molecular Targeted Drugs, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Clinical Study on Anticancer Molecular Targeted Drugs, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Clinical Study on Anticancer Molecular Targeted Drugs, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiangru
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Clinical Study on Anticancer Molecular Targeted Drugs, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yuankai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D043844:Crown Ethers / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018307:Neoplasms, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D011799:Quinazolines / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D043844:Crown Ethers; D011799:Quinazolines; C531470:icotinib
keywords: epidermal growth factor receptor; icotinib; nonsmall cell lung cancer; predictive factors; squamous-cell cancer