Gemcitabine Plus Platinum Combination Chemotherapy for Elderly Patients with Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A...

This study aimed to analyze the efficacy and toxicity of gemcitabine plus platinum chemotherapy for patients aged 70 years or older with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

We reviewed the records of stage IIIB, IV NSCLC patients or surgically inoperable stage II, IIIA NSCLC patients who were aged 70 years or older when treated with gemcitabine (1,250 mg/m(2)) plus cisplatin (75 mg/m(2)) or carboplatin (AUC5) chemotherapy from 2001 to 2010 at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital and St. Vincent's Hospital. Gemcitabine was administered on days 1 and 8, and cisplatin or carboplatin was administered on day 1. Treatments were repeated every 3 weeks for a maximum of 4 cycles.

The median age of the 62 patients was 73.5 years (range, 70 to 84 years). Forty-one (66%) patients exhibited comorbidity. The mean number of treatment cycles was 3.9. The compared average relative dose intensity of gemcitabine plus platinum chemotherapy was 84.8%. The median progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) were 5.0 months and 9.4 months, respectively. Reduced Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (none vs. ≥1) and weight loss (<5% vs. ≥5%) after treatment were found to have a significant effect on OS (p=0.01).

Gemcitabine plus platinum chemotherapy is an effective treatment option with an acceptable level of toxicity in patients aged 70 years or older with good performance status in advanced NSCLC.