Trial of Erlotinib and BKM120 in Patients With Advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer Previously Sensitive to Erlotinib

Preclinical data in lung cancer cell lines showed that EGFR mutation can potentially be a positive predictor for sensitivity to BKM120. Furthermore, when the erlotinib-resistant model H1975 (LR858 and T790M mutation) was treated with BKM120, significant tumor control was observed (Novartis internal data). Therefore, combining BKM120 with erlotinib could potentially down-modulate PI3K-Akt activity resulting in a synergistic effect on cell growth inhibition and enhancing the response to erlotinib.