Phase II study of a biweekly schedule of docetaxel and cisplatin in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer
Received 30 June 2009; received in revised form 3 September 2009; accepted 8 September 2009. published online 05 October 2009.
Abstract
Purpose
We investigated the efficacy and toxicity of a biweekly schedule of docetaxel and cisplatin in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Methods
In this study, 48 patients with previously untreated metastatic NSCLC were given combination chemotherapy consisting of docetaxel 40mg/m2 and cisplatin 40mg/m2; both drugs were given biweekly, on days 1 and 15, every 4 weeks.
Results
A partial response and stable disease were observed in 25 patients (52.1%, 95% CI: 38.7–66.9%) and ten patients (20.8%), respectively. The overall median survival was 14.0 months (95% CI: 7.10–20.9 months). There was no treatment-related mortality. The major toxicity was grade 2 asthenia (35.4%). Grade 4 neutropenia was observed in two patients (4.2%), as was grade 3 infection (4.2%).
Conclusions
As a front-line chemotherapy in an outpatient setting for patients with metastatic NSCLC, the biweekly schedule of docetaxel and cisplatin showed effective antitumor activity with a marked reduction in hematologic toxicity, comparable to the results of previous studies using 3-week or weekly schedules. Further randomized studies are needed before this can be accepted as a standard schedule.
aDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of medicine Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea
bGyeongsang Institute of Health Science, Jinju, Republic of Korea
cGyeongnam Regional Cancer Center, Jinju, Republic of Korea
Corresponding author at: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine Gyeongsang National University, 660-702 Jinju, Republic of Korea. Tel.: +82 55 750 8066; fax: +82 55 758 9122.
ABSTRACT