VeriStrat analysis shows patients with advanced NSCLC benefit from dual targeted therapies

Results from the VeriStrat analysis of a phase II trial of first line erlotinib in combination with sorafenib in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were presented today at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets in Cancer Therapeutics being held in Berlin, Germany by Egbert Smit, MD, PhD of the VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  The intention of the biomarker analysis was to evaluate the ability of the blood-based test, VeriStrat, to predict patient outcomes with the erlotinib plus sorafenib combination regimen.

Forty-nine of 50 patients from the study had pretreatment serum samples available for analysis.  VeriStrat analysis classified 33 (67%) as likely to have "good" outcomes and 15 (31%) as likely to have "poor" outcomes.  Only one sample was classified as indeterminate.  VeriStrat Good patients had a significant improvement in overall survival compared with VeriStrat Poor patients (Hazard>

Researchers concluded that the proteomic test, VeriStrat, may identify a subset of patients that derive significant clinical benefit from first- line treatment of advanced NSCLC with dual targeted therapies.  Prospective studies are planned.

"This is the first study to demonstrate that a biomarker can identify patients who are likely to benefit from the erlotinib plus sorafenib combination," stated Egbert Smit, MD, PhD.  "This is exciting for lung cancer patients as the all-oral combination may be more tolerable than traditional platinum-based regimens, with similar efficacy.  More research is needed to fully define the role of this biomarker and identify the specific groups of patients that this combination may benefit."