title: Weekly paclitaxel for advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients not suitable for platinum-based therapy.
abstract: Platinum-based combinations are efficacious in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but their toxicity makes them unsuitable for elderly and for patients with co-morbidities. We assessed the efficacy and toxicity of low-dose of paclitaxel in patients who were elderly or who had contraindications against cisplatin therapy. Seventy-one patients (median age 68; range 42-82 years) with unresectable NSCLC were treated with weekly paclitaxel (80 mg/m2) infusion (1 h) for several cycles without intervening rest periods. Thirty-seven patients had PS 1 and 34 had PS 2 status. A total of 614 courses were administered (median 9, range 2-20). There were no episodes of grade 4 toxicities and only 1 patient had grade 3 thrombopenia. Grade 3 anemia or neutropenia were not observed and severe non-hematological toxicity was uncommon: grade 1-2 fatigue in 52%; grade 1-2 motor neuropathy in 42% and grade 3 in 5.5%; grade 1-2 sensory neuropathy in 46.3% of patients. Twenty-seven of the 67 evaluable patients (40.3%) had an objective response, whereas 26 patients (38.8%) had stable disease. The median overall survival for the entire group was 8.4 months (95% CI = 5.6 to 11.2) and the 1-year and 2-year survival was 37.4% and 12.1%, respectively. The median time-to-progression was 5.4 months (95% CI = 3.3 to 7.4). Our data show that low-dose weekly paclitaxel is active and well tolerated in this group of patients with NSCLC and poor prognosis and, as such, is useful for patients in whom platinum-based combinations are not suitable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Arnau de Vilanova, 46015 Valencia, Spain. juan_osc@gva.es
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Juan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Villarroya
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Casan
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Caranana
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Alberola
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D018287:Carcinoma, Large Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D011379:Prognosis; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D017239:Paclitaxel; D002945:Cisplatin