Analysis of biologic surrogate markers from a Children's Oncology Group Phase I trial of gefitinib in pediatric patients with solid tumors.

This trial evaluated the effect of gefitinib on the plasma circulating levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and -9 of patients treated on a pediatric Phase I trial. Complete plasma correlative studies were obtained from 16 of the 25 enrolled patients. There was a trend for lower MMP-2 baseline levels in patients with partial response or stable disease. The Ewing sarcoma from the only patient with partial response lacked egfr mutations. Gefitinib did not induce any significant variation in the levels of the assessed parameters, and none of these determinations showed significant predictive or prognostic value. Copyright (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.