According to results from a single-arm, multicenter study, irinotecan liposome plus anlotinib demonstrated promising clinical efficacy and safety among patients with platinum-resistant small cell lung cancer (SCLC). 

These data were first presented by Jialei Wang, MD, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China, at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. 

In this study, 11 patients who experienced disease progression within 6 months of first-line platinum-based therapy were assigned to receive 70 mg/m² of irinotecan liposome (on day 1 of each 14-day cycle) plus 12 mg of anlotinib (for 2 weeks on followed by 1 week off) until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary end point was objective response rate (ORR). Key secondary end points included disease control rate and safety. 

At analysis, 6 patients underwent tumor assessment and there were 4 partial responses, 1 incidence of stable disease, and 1 incidence of progressive disease. The ORR was 66.7% and the disease control rate was 83.3%. Eight patients discontinued treatment due to either disease progression (n = 4), treatment delay (n = 3), or withdrawal of consent (n = 2). At the time of analysis there was 1 death reported. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 10 patients and grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 8 patients. The most common grade ≥3 events occurring in ≥ 10% of patients included diarrhea and leukopenia. 

“The combination of irinotecan liposome and anlotinib demonstrated the anticipated efficacy and safety in patients with platinum-resistant SCLC, warranting further investigation,” concluded Dr Wang et al. 

Source: 

Wang J, Wang Y, Lin J, et al. Irinotecan liposome combined with anlotinib as second-line treatment in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Presented at 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. May 30-June 3, 2025; Chicago, IL. Abstract e20105