The investigators are doing this research program to find out if the investigational drug, afatinib which is a medication known to block the function of the ErbB2 protein might help standard chemotherapy, in particular paclitaxel, work better. Afatinib (GILOTRIF) is a highly potent, irreversible inhibitor of the EGFR and HER2. On July 12, 2013 the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approved afatinib for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors had specific EGFR gene mutations (exon 19 deletions or exon 21 i.e. L858R substitution mutations) as detected by an FDA approved test. Paclitaxel is a standard, anti-cancer medicine that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of lung cancer. The combination of Afatinib and Paclitaxel are considered investigational when used in this research program. An investigational drug is a drug that is not approved by the FDA for its indication.
Name: Afatinib
Description: Afatinib 40mg/PO daily will be administered in combination to standard of care paclitaxel.Type: DrugAfatinib and weekly Paclitaxel
Name: Paclitaxel
Description: On the day of the first dose of afatinib, paclitaxel will be administered at a dose of 80 mg/m2 intravenously over 60 minutes on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle.Type: DrugAfatinib and weekly Paclitaxel
Description: Safety of BIBW 2992 will be evaluated as indicated by intensity and incidence of adverse events, graded according to US National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Version 4.0. Safety endpoints include: events leading to dose reduction events leading to permanent treatment discontinuation the overall incidence and CTC criteria grade of adverse events, as well as relatedness of adverse events to treatment causes of death
Measure: Number of participants with adverse events. Time: up to approximately 36 monthsDescription: CTC number changes from cycle 1, day 1 to cycle 2/3, day 1 will be correlated with response rate, progression-free survival as well as skin toxicity.
Measure: Total number of circulating tumor cell (CTC) numbers. Time: up to approximately 36 monthsDescription: Diagnostic tumor specimens will be retrieved for all subjects participating in the protocol. These specimens will be used for confirmation of ErbB2 status as well as correlative analyses of clinical response.
Measure: ErbB2 levels benefit during therapy. Time: up to approximately 4 yearsSingle Group Assignment
There is one SNP
L858R substitution mutations) as detected by an FDA approved test. --- L858R ---