[Survival-related clinical factors of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer after 2000]

To find new survival-related clinical factors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after 2000.

Two hundred one patients were registered with primary NSCLC from years 2000 to 2005. One hundred eighty-six patients were pathologically diagnosed with NSCLC (all patients in the group). These patients were reviewed after wards in order to find any new survival-related clinical factors.

One hundred forty-nine patients had adenocarcinoma. Median age was 68 years old, and median performance status (PS) was 1. Fifty-nine patients were treated with gefitinib, which is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)- tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). In initial treatment, 22 patients were given gefitinib, and 37 patients after secondary treatment. Sixteen patients were managed with the best supportive care, and 12 patients were not allowed to know their precise treatment. These 28 patients were excluded from the all patients group i. e., the treated patients group. In multivariate analysis of this group, the PS, the treatment by gefitinib, the number of metastasized organs, and the serum total bilirubin were independent survival-related clinical factors. The median survival time without use of gefitinib was 46 weeks, and the survival times in first-line or more than first-line were 40 or 105 weeks, respectively (p = 0. 01).

In addition to PS, the number of metastasized organs, and serum total bilirubin, treatment by gefitinib was considered to be one of the survival-related clinical factors in unselected patients with NSCLC.