Abstract
Purpose
The role of cisplatin in the first-line treatment for elderly advanced non-small-cell lung cancer is not completely defined. We previously reported in this subset of patients an interesting efficacy and tolerability of a sequential schedule of gemcitabine followed by docetaxel.
Methods
Patients aged ≥70 years and with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 or 1 received cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on Day 1 and gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 on Day 1 and 8 every 3 weeks for 3 courses followed by 3 courses of docetaxel 37.5 mg/m2 on Day 1 and 8 every 3 weeks, provided there was no evidence of disease progression. Patients were excluded if considered ‘frail’ according to the Multidimensional Geriatric Assessment. The main objective of the study was the 4-month progression-free survival rate. Simon’s two-stage minimax design was applied to calculate the sample size.
Results
After 30 patients were enroled into the study, the 4-month progression-free survival rate was 53.3 % and the study was closed at the first stage for futility; the overall response rate was 16.7 %; the median time to progression and median duration of survival were 5.1 and 8.6 months, respectively; the 1-year survival rate was 30 %.
Conclusion
The incorporation of cisplatin in a sequential schedule of gemcitabine followed by docetaxel is feasible but did not yield a substantial advantage to deserve further investigations.
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Tibaldi, C., Camerini, A., D’Incecco, A. et al. First-line chemotherapy with planned sequential administration of cisplatin/gemcitabine followed by docetaxel in elderly ‘unfrail’ patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a multicenter phase II study. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 138, 2003–2008 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-012-1280-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-012-1280-5