2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) - ePosters-EP.13B.14 Extensive Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC): Maintenance Oral Etoposide Daily for 6 Days Every 3-4 Weeks Until Tumor Progression

EP.13B.14 Extensive Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC): Maintenance Oral Etoposide Daily for 6 Days Every 3-4 Weeks Until Tumor Progression

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The study by Dr. David J. Stewart from the University of Ottawa explores the effectiveness of maintenance oral etoposide for patients with extensive small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Administered every three weeks, oral etoposide has been found to significantly improve progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to historical controls, demonstrating user-friendly administration and minimal cumulative toxicity. <br /><br />The study involved a single oncologist practice where patients who completed induction chemotherapy with platinum and etoposide were given maintenance oral etoposide starting February 2020. The treatment schedule was determined based on body surface area. Later, combinations with immunotherapies durvalumab and atezolizumab were offered, which resulted in comparable or better survival outcomes. <br /><br />Maintenance etoposide alone yielded a median PFS of 5.8 months and an OS of 9.6 months from the last cycle of induction chemotherapy. In contrast, patients receiving no maintenance therapy had a median PFS of 1.7 months and OS of 6.8 months. Notably, the combination of etoposide with immunotherapies, particularly atezolizumab, showed some promising improvements with a median OS of up to 11.0 months from chemotherapy initiation.<br /><br />While immune checkpoint inhibitors like durvalumab and atezolizumab have shown some benefits in improving PFS and OS, the study found no significant added benefit when used with etoposide alone. This emphasizes the greater efficacy of continuous maintenance etoposide therapy. However, due to small patient numbers and non-randomized historical control comparisons, further assessments are required to substantiate these findings and better understand the potential contributions of immunotherapies in extensive SCLC treatment. <br /><br />In summary, maintenance oral etoposide presents as a feasible and effective treatment option for long-term management of extensive SCLC, with potential improvements over solely using current immunotherapy regimens.

Asset Subtitle

DAVID STEWART

Meta Tag

Speaker DAVID STEWART

Topic Small Cell Lung Cancer and Neuroendocrine Tumors

Keywords

maintenance oral etoposide

small cell lung cancer

progression-free survival

overall survival

immunotherapies

durvalumab

atezolizumab

chemotherapy

treatment efficacy

extensive SCLC