Multinational phase 3 trial of liposomal irinotecan versus topotecan for relapsed small cell lung cancer in adult patients

The phase 3 part of the multinational phase 2-3 RESILIENT trial compared liposomal irinotecan versus topotecan as second-line therapy for small cell lung cancer patients with relapse on or after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Liposomal irinotecan compared with topotecan did not result in improved overall survival (median 7.9 versus 8.3 months; p=0.31) or progression-free survival (median 4.0 versus 3.3 months; p=0.71) but did result in higher objective response rate (44.1% versus 21.6%) and lower incidence of grade ≥ 3 treatment-emergent adverse events (42.0% versus 83.4%). The authors conclude that liposomal irinotecan was equally efficacious as topotecan but resulted in less toxicity.