Squamous cell carcinomas (SqCC) of the lung often express high levels of thymidylate synthase (TS), which is associated with primary resistance to pemetrexed. We explored the efficacy of pemetrexed in a selected population of patients with lung SqCC with low TS expression.
In this single-arm phase II trial, we enrolled 32 previously-treated patients with advanced lung SqCC exhibiting low immunohistochemical staining for TS (i.e., in 10% or less of tumor cells). The primary endpoint was 12-week progression-free survival (PFS) rate.
Of 32 patients, 8 patients (25%) had an ECOG performance status of 2, and 7 patients (22%) had previously received three or more lines of chemotherapy. The disease control rate from pemetrexed treatment was 30%, and no objective response was observed. The 12-week PFS rate was 24.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.0-46.1). Median PFS was 1.3 months (95% CI, 1.3-2.7), and median overall survival was 11.8 months (95% CI, 8.1-not applicable).
Pemetrexed demonstrated modest activity as a salvage chemotherapy in patients with advanced lung SqCC with low TS expression, although its toxicity was generally manageable.

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