Erlotinib With or Without Hydroxychloroquine in Chemo-Naive Advanced NSCLC and (EGFR) Mutations

Phase II Study of Erlotinib With or Without Hydroxychloroquine in Patients With Previously Untreated Advanced NSCLC and EGFR Mutations

The purpose of this research study is to learn if adding hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to erlotinib helps treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Another goal of this research study is to learn more about NSCLC and how it may respond to study treatment. Erlotinib (Tarceva) is a type of drug called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). TKIs block a protein called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). EGFR may control tumor growth and tumor cell survival. However, although TKI drugs can work for some lung cancer patients for a period of time, eventually the tumor finds a way to resist or counteract the TKI treatment and it begins to grow again. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a drug approved by the FDA for treating malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, and several other diseases. Laboratory research suggests that when HCQ is given with a TKI, it may help delay or prevent TKI resistance from developing.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Erlotinib; Drug: Hydroxychloroquine

Detailed Description

• Because no one knows which of the study options are best, participants will be randomized into of the study groups: Group A (erlotinib) or Group B (erlotinib and HCQ). Study treatment will be divided into time periods called cycles. Each study treatment cycle is 28 days.
• Erlotinib (Group A and Group B) will be taken orally once a day. Hydroxychloroquine (Group B) will be taken orally once a day after taking erlotinib.
• The following tests and procedures will be performed day 1 of each cycle: physical examination, performance status assessment, questions about any symptoms or side effects, blood for routine tests. The following procedures will be performed at certain study visits: Research blood tests (cycle 1, cycle 2, then every other even cycle); eye exam (cycle 4, cycle 7, and then every 3 months); assessment of the tumor with CT or MRI scan (done at the end of even cycles.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 76
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
      • Stanford Cancer Institute
  • Connecticut
    • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06519
      • Yale Cancer Center
  • Maryland
    • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21201
      • University of Maryland
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
      • Massachusetts General Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Pathologically confirmed diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer
• Stage IV disease by the American Joint Committee on Cancer/IASLC 7th edition proposed edition staging criteria
• An EGFR sensitizing mutation must be detected in tumor tissue. Specifically, patients harboring the most common mutations, deletions in exon 19 or the L858R mutation in exon 21 are eligible. Presence of the known resistance mutation T790M as detected by direct tumor sequencing is not allowed. Other rare EGFR mutations may be eligible after discussion with the overall principal investigator
• Age equal to or greater than 18 years
• Measurable disease by RECIST criteria, defined as the presence of at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded) as 10mm or greater with spiral CT scan
• ECOG Performance status of 0, 1 or 2
• Since prior radiation or surgery, 14 days or more must have elapsed before starting protocol treatment
• No prior treatment with erlotinib, gefitinib, or other small molecule EGFR-TKIs. Prior treatment in the adjuvant setting is allowed if at least 1 year has elapsed since TKI course.
• Adequate organ function as outlined in the protocol
• Patients must undergo a screening eye exam to obtain approval for HCQ treatment, which establishes the absence of baseline conditions include macular degeneration, visual field changes, other retinal disease, and cataracts that interfere with required funduscopic examinations
• No G6PD deficiency, as HCQ may cause hemolysis in patients with G6DP

Exclusion Criteria:

• Symptomatic CNS metastases or newly diagnosed CNS metastases that have not yet been definitively treated with radiation and/or surgery. Note that patients with a history of CNS metastases or cord compression are allowed if they have been definitively treated and are clinically stable. Maintenance steroids are allowed but maintenance seizure medication with an EIAED is not allowed
• Prior radiation therapy inclusive of all identified target lesions. Note that prior palliative radiation to bony disease, CNS disease, or a limited thoracic area is allowed, provided that there is measurable disease outside the field and radiation is completed at least two weeks prior to starting treatment and the patient has fully recovered from all side effects
• Current use of hydroxychloroquine for any reason
• Known hypersensitivity to chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, or any closely related drug: erlotinib, gefitinib, or any closely related drug
• Patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Female subjects of childbearing potential and male subjects must practice acceptable methods of birth control
• Any evidence of clinically active interstitial lung disease. Note that patients with chronic, stable radiographic changes who are asymptomatic are eligible
• Invasive malignancies within the past 3 years except for adequately treated carcinoma of the cervix, basal or squamous cell carcinomas of the skin
• Evidence of any other significant clinical disorder or laboratory finding that makes it undesirable for the patient to participate in the study, including a prior diagnosis of porphyria or non-light-sensitive psoriasis, as HCQ can significantly exacerbate both of these conditions
• Use of any non-FDA approved or investigational agent in 30 days or less of enrolling onto the trial, or failure to recover from the side effects of any of these agents
• Penicillamine use for Wilson's disease or any other indication, as concomitant use with HCQ can increase toxicity to penicillamine
• Life expectancy of less than 12 weeks

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Erlotinib; Erlotinib 150 mg oral daily	Drug: Erlotinib; 150 mg taken orally once daily; Other Names: Tarceva
Experimental: Erlotinib and Hydroxychloroquine; Erlotinib 150 mg oral daily plus Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) 1000 mg oral daily	Drug: Erlotinib; 150 mg taken orally once daily; Other Names: Tarceva; Drug: Hydroxychloroquine; 1000 mg taken orally once daily after erlotinib; Other Names: HCQ

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Median Progression Free Survival	A measure of progression-free survival in patients with advanced non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and EGFR mutations treated with erlotinib as compared with patients treated with erlotinib plus hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). Disease progression is defined as at least a 20% increase in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions, as seen on CT scan, or the appearance of one or more new lesions on CT scan.	From start of treatment until report of disease progression, assessed up to 10 years.
Nine-month Progression-free Survival Rate	This trial can detect a difference in proportions alive without progression at 9 months from 50% in the erlotinib arm to 77% in the erlotinib plus hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) arm, using an alpha of 0.15 and power of 85%, using the two-sided Likelihood Ratio test. Progression is defined as at least a 20% increase in the size of existing lesions or the appearance of one or more new lesions.	Nine months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Treatment Related Toxicity, > 10% Frequency, Any Grade	To evaluate the safety of treatment with erlotinib with and without hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). All participants receiving study treatment were evaluated for safety. Parameters included laboratory tests, hematological abnormalities, physical exam findings and spontaneous reports of adverse events reported by participants. Toxicities were evaluated and graded according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Version 3.0. Grade 1 = mild, Grade 2 = moderate, Grade 3 = severe, Grade 4 = life-threatening, Grade 5 = fatal.	2 years
Objective Tumor Response Rate Following Treatment With Erlotinib and With Erlotinib/HCQ.	Response is assessed via spiral CT scan, done at baseline and after every 2 cycles of study treatment. Standard RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors) was used. Complete Response (CR) = disappearance of all target lesions; Partial Response (PR) = at least a 30% decrease in the size of target lesions, as compared to baseline; Progressive Disease (PD) = at least at 20% increase in the size of target lesions, or the appearance of one or more new lesions; Stable Disease (SD) = neither sufficient shrinkage to qualify for partial response nor sufficient increase to qualify for progressive disease. Response rate = CR + PR. Disease control rate = CR + PR + SD	2 years
Overall Survival of Patients Treated With Erlotinib and With Erlotinib/HCQ		Until death

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Circulating Tumor Cell Quantification	Serial circulating tumor cell (CTC) analyses will be performed on peripheral blood and correlated with disease response.	Until disease progression (median of 10.8 months)
EGFR Mutational Status	Correlation of molecular and genetic tumor characteristics with disease response. Genomic DNA will be extracted from tumor tissue and direct sequencing analysis will be performed to identify additional mutations.	2 years
Percent of Participants in Which FMISO-PET ([18F]-Fluoromisonidazole-positron Emission Tomography) is Able to Detect and Quantify Changes in Tumor Hypoxia After Erlotinib.	[18F]-FMISO-PET/CT was performed on a 64-slice PET/CT scanner and tracer uptake was assessed using SUV (standardized uptake value), normalizing the radioactivity measured in tissue by the injected dose and the body weight of the patient. Mean and maximum SUV and threshold volume of FMISO uptake were measured to quantify the extent of hypoxia in the primary tumor. Imaging was performed before and after initiation of therapy with erlotinib.	12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Collaborators: Yale University; University of Maryland; Genentech, Inc.; Stanford University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Lecia Sequist, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Arvold ND, Heidari P, Kunawudhi A, Sequist LV, Mahmood U. Tumor Hypoxia Response After Targeted Therapy in EGFR-Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Proof of Concept for FMISO-PET. Technol Cancer Res Treat. 2016 Apr;15(2):234-42. doi: 10.1177/1533034615574386. Epub 2015 Mar 10.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: October 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 11, 2009
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 14, 2009
• First Posted (Estimated): September 15, 2009

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): October 15, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 27, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: NSCLC; erlotinib; Tarceva; HCQ
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Neoplasms; Thoracic Neoplasms; Lung Neoplasms; Carcinoma, Bronchogenic; Bronchial Neoplasms; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Heterocyclic Compounds; Heterocyclic Compounds, 2-Ring; Heterocyclic Compounds, Fused-Ring; Quinolines; Aminoquinolines; Quinazolines; Chloroquine; Erlotinib Hydrochloride; Hydroxychloroquine
• Other Study ID Numbers: 09-097 (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center); OSI4620s (Other Identifier: OSI)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO