A single-arm phase II study of nab-paclitaxel for patients with chemorefractory non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel in patients with refractory advanced non-small cell lung cancer who failed previous chemotherapy. METHODS: Patients were required to have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0–2 and adequate organ function. Patients received nab-paclitaxel, 100 mg/m(2) i.v. on days 1, 8, and 15 every 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was the overall response rate. Secondary endpoints were the progression-free survival time, overall survival, and the toxicity profile. RESULTS: From July 2013 to July 2015, a total of 31 patients were enrolled. Fourteen patients received nab-paclitaxel as a second-line and 17 received it as an over third-line therapy. Each patient received a median of 5 treatment cycles (range, 1–11). The overall response rate was 19.3% (95% confidence interval, 9.1–36.2%) (complete response (n = 0), partial response (n = 6), stable disease (n = 17), and progressive disease (n = 8)). The median progression-free survival time was 4.5 months (95% confidence interval 3.5–6.3 months), median overall survival time was 15.7 months, and 1-year survival rate was 54.8%. Most common grade 3 or 4 non-hematological toxicities were elevated aspartate transaminase level (3.2%) and sensory neuropathy (9.6%). Neutropenia was the most common grade 3 or 4 adverse events (38.6%), and febrile neutropenia developed in 12.9% patients. No treatment-related deaths were observed in this study. CONCLUSION: Primary endpoint was met. Single agent nab-paclitaxel showed significant clinical efficacy and manageable toxicities for patients with chemorefractory advanced non-small cell lung cancer even if late line setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN000011696. The date of registration was July 11th, 2013.