A Phase II Trial of the HIV Protease Inhibitor Nelfinavir and Concurrent Radiation and Chemotherapy in Patients With Stage III Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

This is a phase 2 trial of the HIV protease inhibitor (HPI) Nelfinavir (NFV) in combination with radiotherapy and chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are considered candidates for pre-operative treatment. This study is to be conducted according to US and international standards of Good Clinical Practice (FDA Title 21 part 312 and International Conference on Harmonization guidelines), applicable government regulations and Institutional research policies and procedures. The endpoints are to determine safety of NFV with chemoradiation, gather preliminary data for response, and tissue specimens for correlative molecular studies. Unacceptable toxicity is unlikely as prior studies have determined dosing 1250 mg twice a day is relatively safe for HIV patients receiving radiation therapy. NFV will start one week prior to chemo-radiotherapy and continue for the duration of chemoradiation (approximately 6 1/2 weeks). Standard radiotherapy (minimum total dose 5040 cGy) and combined (cisplatin/etoposide) chemotherapy based on SWOG 8805 will be delivered in combination with NFV. The thoracic surgery attending physician will determine the feasibility of resection. If the patient has resectable disease, the attending thoracic surgeon will perform the thoracotomy and anatomical resection. If the patient has unresectable disease, subject will be followed for 30 days post NFV administration. After the initial 30 days post-NFV, subjects will be followed for long-term outcomes (disease response and overall survival). Adjuvant therapy may be continued off-study at the discretion of managing oncology personnel. Tumors obtained at the time of surgical resection will be assessed for pathological response. Tumor tissue taken pre-treatment will be assessed for markers that may predict response such as Akt, VEGF, and EGFR.