Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still the leading cause of cancer death world-wide. Radiation therapy (RT) is one of the most important treatment choices in locally advanced NSCLC. Combination of RT and chemotherapy could improve treatment outcomes. However, the combined modality could not be used in many patients due to severe toxicities. EGFR-TKI shows great efficacy in the treatment of NSCLC, and many phase I/II studies established its safety in combination with RT. This phase II study is to further evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of RT and erlotinib in the treatment of locally advanced NSCLC. Eligible patients include patients with stage IIIA/IIIB NSCLC, who are not suitable for or refused to receive concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Eligible patients will receive oral erlotinib (150mg qd)throughout the course of thoracic RT (60-70 Gy). The primary endpoint is progression free survival and the second endpoints are overall survival and any grade III and above toxicities. We are going to recruit 50 patients for this study.
The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of the concurrent use of erlotinib and radiation therapy in the treatment of locally advanced non-small lung cancer.