[Docetaxel (Taxotere) as first-line therapy of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)]

Taxotere as a 'stabilizing antitubuline' and a second-generation Taxan has anti-tumor activity in a variety of solid neoplasms. In NSCLC Taxotere has shown encouraging response rates across a range of phase-II studies, and phase-III trials have confirmed its effectiveness in pretreated and chemotherapy-naive patients. Single agent Taxotere has shown that it can significantly improve both survival and quality of life when compared to either best supportive care or standard chemotherapy in previously treated patients. Therefore, it is considered standard for NSCLC second-line chemotherapy. Taxotere has also been evaluated in combination with platinum-compounds and non-platinum-based drugs for first-line treatment of NSCLC. The results recently published from a phase-III registration trial (TAX 326) have shown that the overall survival among patients randomized to receive Taxotere/Cisplatin was better than that among patients treated with Vinorelbin/Cisplatin and similar compared to Vinorelbin/Cisplatin for those patients who received Taxotere/Carboplatin. Given concomitantly or sequentially with non-platinum-based compounds (i.e. Gemcitabine, Vinorelbine) Taxotere has also shown promising activity in randomized studies and may offer advantages for patients not eligible to receive platinum-based compounds.