Phase II trial of modified FOLFOX6 and erlotinib in patients with metastatic or advanced adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus and gastro-oesophageal junction

BACKGROUND: There is increased recognition that cancers of the upper GI tract comprise distinct epidemiological and molecular entities. Erlotinib has shown activity in patients with adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus/gastro-oesophageal junction (GEJ), but not in distal gastric cancer. mFOLFOX6 is one of several active regimens used to treat adenocarcinoma of the Eso/GEJ. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of mFOLFOX6 and erlotinib in patients with metastatic or advanced Eso/GEJ cancers. METHODS: Patients with previously untreated advanced or metastatic Eso/GEJ adenocarcinoma are treated with oxaliplatin 85 mg m(–2), 5-FU 400 mg m(–2), LV 400 mg m(–2) on day 1, 5-FU 2400 mg m(–2) over 48 h and erlotinib 150 mg PO daily. Treatment was repeated every 14 days. The primary objective was response rate (RR), secondary objectives include toxicity, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and to correlate clinical outcome with expression patterns and molecular alterations in the epidermal growth factor receptor-dependent pathways. RESULTS: A total of 33 patients were treated and evaluable: there were two complete responses, 15 partial responses for an objective RR of 51.5% (95% CI, 34.5–68.6%). Median PFS was 5.5 months (95% CI, 3.1–7.5 months) and median OS was 11.0 months (95% CI, 8.0–17.4 months). The most common grade 3–4 toxicities were: diarrhoea (24%), nausea/vomiting (11%), skin rash (8%) and peripheral neuropathy (8%). The frequency of alterations was KRAS mutations (8%), EGFR mutations (0%) and HER2 amplification (19%). CONCLUSION: In patients with Eso/GEJ adenocarcinoma, mFOLFOX6 and erlotinib is active, has an acceptable toxicity profile and FOLFOX±erlotinib could be considered for further development.