Azacitidine and Entinostat in Treating Patients With Recurrent Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To assess safety, characterize toxicities, and determine the maximum tolerated dose of 5-AZA (azacitidine) with a fixed-dose of entinostat in patients with recurrent advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). (Phase I) II. To determine the objective response rate of 5-AZA and entinostat in patients with recurrent NSCLC. (Phase II) SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the pharmacokinetic profile of 5-AZA and entinostat in patients with recurrent NSCLC. II. To assess the pharmacodynamic effects of 5-AZA and entinostat on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation, histone acetylation, and gene re-expression in patients with recurrent NSCLC through analysis of blood, sputum and tissue biopsies. III. To explore the effect of 5-AZA and entinostat on progression-free and overall survival in patients with recurrent advanced non-small cell lung cancer. IV. To explore the differing response rates and progression-free survivals of two schedules of 5-AZA and entinostat in patients with recurrent advanced non-small cell lung cancer. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter, phase I, dose-escalation study of azacitidine followed by an open-label, phase II study. Patients receive azacitidine subcutaneously (SC) on days 1-6 and 8-10 and entinostat orally (PO) on days 3 and 10. Treatment repeats every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months.