Hydroxychloroquine in combination with platinum doublet chemotherapy as first-line treatment for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (Study 15): A randomised phase II multicentre trial
72 patients were randomised (36 HCQ+chemotherapy and 36 chemotherapy alone). Median HCQ treatment duration was 4.4 months. HCQ did not improve PFS (HR 1·12 95 %CI 0·69-1.84; p = 0·64), with a median of 5.7 months (HCQ+chemotherapy) versus 6.2 months (chemotherapy). The corresponding median OS were 8.9 and 10.2 months (HR 0.83, 95 %CI 0.48-1.45, p = 0.52). Fewer patients in the HCQ arm completed four cycles of chemotherapy due to adverse events (64 % vs. 81 %). Grade ≥ 3 adverse events were higher in the HCQ+chemotherapy arm (83.3 % vs. 27.8 %), primarily anaemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia, partly due to the initially higher gemcitabine dose used CONCLUSIONS: Combining HCQ with platinum doublet chemotherapy did not improve PFS or OS outcomes for ES-SCLC, resulting in more patients stopping chemotherapy due to increased adverse events. When considered alongside other randomised studies of HCQ in cancer, the evidence collectively indicates a limited role for HCQ as a therapeutic option.
Authors
- M. Förster (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7639-290X)
- Alastair Greystoke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9168-0387)
- Allan Hackshaw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5570-5070)
- Siow Ming Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1741-6235)
- Arvind Arora (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3087-6970)
- Eleni Karapanagiotou
- Dionysis Papadatos-Pastos
- Laura Farrelly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0039-6709)
- Fion Bremner
- Angel E. Garcı́a (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0912-0960)
- Robin Young (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5146-9074)
- Madeleine Hewish
- Fiona Helen Blackhall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8716-3395)
- Amy Ford
- Tanya Ahmad
- S. Vaja
- Robin Rudd
- A.E. Hollingdale
- Samreen Ahmed
Institutions
- Glan Clwyd Hospital (GB)
- St Thomas' Hospital (GB)
- Royal Surrey County Hospital (GB)
- Royal Lancaster Infirmary (GB)
- Peterborough City Hospital (GB)
- Royal London Hospital (GB)
- Cancer Research UK (GB)
- Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (GB)
- Weston Park Cancer Centre (GB)
- Nottingham City Hospital (GB)
- The Christie Hospital (GB)
- CRUK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence (GB)
- University College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Journal of Cancer
- Published
- 2024-12-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2024.115162
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Lung Cancer Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.13
Funders
- Cancer Research UK
- University College London