As the incidence of lung cancer in the elderly is increasing worldwide, there exists a need to develop a clinically effective, less toxic therapy for this patient population. Although erlotinib has shown proven effectiveness against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), few studies have prospectively investigated its application to elderly patients.

Patients aged ≥75 years with advanced or recurrent NSCLC including wild-type EGFR who had previously received one or two chemotherapy regimens were enrolled in this trial. Erlotinib was initially administered at a dose of 150 mg/day orally until disease progression or unacceptable toxicities occurred. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate.

Forty patients were enrolled between May 2009 and January 2014. An objective response was observed in 8 patients (20%, 95%CI=9.1-35.7%), and the disease control rate reached 62.5% (95%CI=45.8-77.3%). After a median follow-up period of 12.2 months (range=1.4-47.2 months), the median progression-free survival period was 5.0 months (95%CI=2.3-7.6 months), and the median survival period was 12.2 months (95%CI=6.1-24.7 months). Major toxicities were skin disorders, fatigue, and anorexia. Most adverse events were grade 2 or less, but 13 patients (32.5%) required a dose reduction. Two patients developed interstitial lung disease, that was nevertheless reversible, and there were no treatment-related deaths.

Although the percentage of patients requiring dose reduction seemed relatively higher than that in previous studies, erlotinib is a potentially useful therapeutic option for unselected elderly patients with previously treated advanced or recurrent NSCLC, as has been also shown for younger patients.