Weekly docetaxel as second-line therapy in non-small cell lung cancer: a phase II study

Single-agent docetaxel is active as second-line chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) pretreated patients; seven phase II studies have shown response rates of about 20% and 9 months of median survival. Two phase III studies documented a survival benefit at 1 year compared to BSC and vinorelbine or ifosfamide. Recent trials indicate acceptable activity and a good safety profile of weekly docetaxel with doses of 25-43 mg/m2. The aim of our study was to confirm this evidence and to evaluate activity and toxicity of weekly docetaxel at the dose of 40 mg/m2. PATIENTS ATND METHODS: Twenty-one patients with NSCLC entered the study (7 stage IIIB and 14 stage IV): 13 males and 8 females. Median age was 66 years (range, 53-75). ECOG was O in 6, 1 in 9 and 2 in 6 patients. All patients were pretreated with a first-line chemotherapy (13 patients progressed soon after the first line); 6 of them received palliative radiotherapy on the chest. The treatment consisted of weekly docetaxel, 40 mg/m2 in 1 hr for six weeks with two weeks of rest (1 cycle). A total of 87 administrations was delivered (median, 4; range, 1-12).

All patients were assessable for response (according to the "intent-to-treat principle") and for toxicity. No complete or partial remission was observed; 2 minor responses (9.5%), 1 stable disease (5%), 8 progressive diseases (38%) were documented. Seven patients dropped out the study due to severe toxicity (33.5%) and 3 due to early death (14%). Median survival was 3 months (range, 1-17), and 1-year survival was 9.5%. Toxicity was as follows: grade 4 diarrhea in 1; grade 3 asthenia in 8 (38%), grade 3 stomatitis in 2; grade 3 neutropenia in 1; allergic reactions in 2. No treatment-related death was recorded.

The trial showed only very modest activity of weekly docetaxel, with severe side effects that induced us to stop the accrual in order to prevent other worse toxicities. We therefore concluded that a dose of 40 mg/m2 of weekly docetaxel is not manageable and does not seem to provide a real benefit in terms of response and quality of life.