Impact of renal function on treatment options and outcomes in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Certain chemotherapeutic agents commonly used for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) require minimum threshold renal function for administration. To determine how such requirements affect treatment options, we evaluated renal function patterns in this population.

We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of patients treated for stage IV NSCLC from 2000 to 2007. Associations between patient characteristics, calculated creatinine clearance (CrCl), and clinical outcomes were determined using univariate and multivariate analyses, Cox proportional hazard models, and mixed model analysis.

298 patients (3930 creatinine measurements) were included in the analysis. Patients had a median of 5 (interquartile range [IQR] 4-18) Cr measurements. Median baseline CrCl was 96 mL/min (IQR 74-123 mL/min); median nadir CrCl was 78 mL/min (IQR 56-100mL/min). Renal function was associated with age (P<0.001), race (P=0.009), and gender (P=0.001). 23% of patients had a recorded CrCl<60 mL/min (threshold for cisplatin), with median onset 83 days after diagnosis and median time to recover to ≥60 mL/min of 27 (IQR 3-85) days; 11% of patients had a recorded CrCl<45 mL/min (threshold for pemetrexed), with median onset 122 days after diagnosis and median recovery time of 36 (IQR 3-73) days. For both thresholds, approximately 35% of patients had no documented recovery.

In this cohort of patients treated for stage IV NSCLC, renal function falls below commonly used thresholds for cisplatin and for pemetrexed in fewer than a quarter of patients. However, these declines may preclude administration of these drugs for prolonged periods.