title: Safety and efficacy of gefitinib treatment in elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: Okayama Lung Cancer Study Group experience.
abstract: We evaluated the safety and efficacy of gefitinib treatment in elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We retrospectively compared toxicity, response and survival outcomes for gefitinib in patients aged 75 years or older (elderly group) with the same outcomes in patients aged younger than 75 years. In total, 350 patients were eligible for this analysis, of whom 92 were in the elderly group and 258 in the non-elderly group. In the elderly group, adverse events were generally mild to moderate and grade 3-4 adverse events were observed in 8 (9%) patients. The objective response rate (17 vs. 21% for elderly vs. non-elderly, respectively) and median survival time (7.6 vs. 9.3 months) were also similar in the two groups. Multivariate analysis revealed elderly patients with lower Brinkman index tended to be more sensitive to gefitinib (odds ratio: 4.57, 95% confidence interval: 0.91-22.72, p = 0.0642). In this study, treatment with gefitinib appeared to be as safe and effective in elderly patients (aged 75 or older) with NSCLC as in non-elderly patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine II, Okayama University Medical School, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Okayama 700-8558, Japan. khotta@md.okayama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Katsuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hotta
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ueoka
authors.forename: Katsuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiura
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ogino
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Umemura
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harita
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gemba
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yonei
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bessho
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Mitsune
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanimoto
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary; D002282:Adenocarcinoma, Bronchiolo-Alveolar / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018287:Carcinoma, Large Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D005260:Female; D000077156:Gefitinib; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011799:Quinazolines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012449:Safety; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011799:Quinazolines; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D000077156:Gefitinib