Pooled analysis of oral vinorelbine as single agents in patients with advanced NSCLC

This was a pooled analysis of data from weekly vinorelbine (VNR) treatment arms of four individual open-label, phase II studies to assess and refine the efficacy and tolerance of weekly oral VNR in a larger cohort of patients with advanced NSCLC.

All patients included in this pooled analysis received oral VNR at the dose of 60 mg/m² weekly at cycle 1 (3-week cycle), followed by an increase to 80 mg/m² weekly for subsequent cycles until disease progression or toxicity. Efficacy was based on objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and disease control rate (DCR).

A total of 247 patients were included. The ORR and DCR were 8.9% and 57.5% respectively, median PFS and OS were 3.3 and 8.5 months, respectively. Less than half (40.7%) of patients reported ≥1 serious AE (regardless of causality), with 12.3% reporting ≥1 treatment-related serious AE (grade ≥3: 11.1%). The most reported grade ≥3 AEs were neutropenia (17.6%), fatigue (5.8%), and decreased appetite (4.9%).

This pooled analysis showed that weekly oral VRN is a valid option, with an acceptable safety profile, in this population of patients with advanced NSCLC, confirming results from previous individual studies.