Carboplatin and Gemcitabine in First-Line Treatment of Elderly Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Data from a Retrospective Study

• Published in: Journal of chemotherapy (Florence) Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 232 - 237
• Main Authors: Genestreti, G., Giovannini, N., Frizziero, M., Maglie, M., Sanna, S., Cingarlini, S., Molino, A.M., Piciucchi, S., Cetto, G.L., Santo, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Firenze Taylor & Francis 01.08.2011; EIFT; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - adverse effects; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; carboplatin; Carboplatin - administration & dosage; Carboplatin - adverse effects; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - drug therapy; chemotherapy; Deoxycytidine - administration & dosage; Deoxycytidine - adverse effects; Deoxycytidine - analogs & derivatives; Disease-Free Survival; elderly patients; Female; Follow-Up Studies; gemcitabine; Humans; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Male; Medical sciences; Neoplasm Staging - methods; Non-small cell lung cancer; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Pneumology; Retrospective Studies; Treatment Outcome; Tumors of the respiratory system and mediastinum; Antineoplastic agent; elderly patients; Gemcitabine; Lung cancer; non-small cell lung carcinoma; Bronchus disease; Advanced stage; Pyrimidine nucleoside; Platinum II Complexes; Human; Lung disease; Respiratory disease; Patient; Data; Malignant tumor; Induction treatment; Retrospective; First line treatment; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Antimetabolic; Non-small cell lung cancer; Carboplatin; Pyrimidine derivatives; Fluorine Organic compounds; Elderly; Cancer
• ISSN: 1120-009X; 1973-9478
• DOI: 10.1179/joc.2011.23.4.232

We retrospectively evaluated elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with carboplatin (AUC 4-5) and gemcitabine (1,000-1,200 mg/m 2 ). Thirty-six patients with performance Status (PS) 0-1 and median age 73 (range 70-78 years) were considered. Histology was squamous cell carcinoma (8 patients), adenocarcinoma (22) and NSCLC not otherwise specified (6). 149 cycles of chemotherapy were administered with a median of 3 per patient (range 3-6). Grade 3 non-hematologic toxicities were dyspnea (1 patient) and fever (1). Grade 3/4 hematologic toxicities were anemia (6), neutropenia (6) and thrombocytopenia (10), with dose reduction required in 13 patients. the overall disease control rate was 44.4%. We recorded no complete response, 8 partial response, 8 stable disease and 20 progressive disease. After a medium follow-up of 11 months, median progression-free survival and median survival were 5 and 11 months, respectively. Carboplatin and gemcitabine is a safe and active regimen in elderly advanced NSCLC patients with good PS.