[Combination therapy with vinorelbine and gemcitabine in unresectable non-small cell lung cancer]

Vinorelbine (VNR) and gemcitabine (GEM) were used in combination to treat 10 patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer to study the efficacy, safety, possibility of out-patient administration, and improvement of subjective symptoms. One course of treatment consisted of i.v. drip infusion of VNR at 25 mg/m2 followed by i.v. drip infusion of GEM at 1,000 mg/m2 on day 1 and day 8. This course was repeated more than twice, as a rule, at 3-week intervals. In 10 patients registered from November 1999 to March 2000, we observed PR in 5, SD in 4 and PD in 1. The response rate was 50%. PS was improved in 5 out of 6 patients with PS 1 or worse. All 4 patients with subjective symptoms reported improvement. Adverse effects of leukopenia of grade 3 or more occurred in 50% of patients and neutropenia in 80%. By dose reduction, we could administer 7.1 courses to each patient on average. Non-hematological toxicities, excluding eruption of grade 3 which occurred in the first course and made it impossible to continue the treatment, were phlebitis in 40% of patients, anorexia in 30% (only grades 1 and 2) and transient drug fever (only grade 1) in 50%. All were tractable, and no lung toxicity occurred. Antibiotic chemotherapy could be performed in 7 patients on an outpatient basis. Combination therapy with VNR and GEM also seemed to be a safe and useful treatment on an outpatient basis.