title: Elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. A pase II study with weekly cisplatin and gemcitabine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The incidence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is increasing among the elderly. We studied the toxicity and efficacy of a weekly schedule of gemcitabine and cisplatin in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients aged 70 years or above with advanced NSCLC were treated in a phase II prospective trial with gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m(2) and cisplatin 35 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8 and 15 every 28 days.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-eight patients with a median age of 74 years (range 70-78) participated in the study. We observed 14 cases with partial response, 14 with stable disease and 16 with progressive disease, whilst 4 patients were not evaluable. By intention-to-treat analysis, partial response rate was 31.8% whilst progressive disease was 33.3%. Median survival was 9 months; 1-year survival probability was 34.4% and median time to progression was 4 months. Grade III-IV leukopenia was observed in 5/48 patients (10.4%), 20/48 patients (41.7%) had grade III-IV thrombocytopenia and 7/48 patients (14.6%) had grade III-IV anemia. One patient experienced grade III emesis and 2 patients had grade III-IV fatigue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  At this dose and schedule the combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin appears to be an active and well-tolerated regimen for elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Unit, University of Ancona, Ancona, Italy. rossana.berardi@libero.it
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berardi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Porfiri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scartozzi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lippe
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nacciarriti
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Menichetti
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tummarello
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carle
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piga
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cellerino
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D020714:Maximum Tolerated Dose; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000093542:Gemcitabine
chemical_list: D003841:Deoxycytidine; D002945:Cisplatin; D000093542:Gemcitabine