title: Biweekly administration of docetaxel and gemcitabine for elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a phase II study.
abstract: With 69 years being the median age at diagnosis in the United States, management of elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has become a common problem faced by the oncology practitioner. We evaluated a biweekly administration of the combination regimen using docetaxel (Sanofi Aventis, Athens) and gemcitabine (Eli Lilly, Athens) in a phase II study (objective response rate, median survival, median response duration and safety). A total of 198 cycles were administered to 38 patients with advanced NSCLC with a median age of 72 years (range 65-85 years). Patients received docetaxel 80 mg/m(2 )and gemcitabine 1000 mg/m (2 )on days 1 and 14 of a 28-day cycle. Twenty patients achieved a partial response (PR) (20/34, 58.8%), 4 patients had stable disease (SD) (4/34, 11.7%) and 10 (10/34, 29.4%) had progressive disease (PD). The median time to disease progression was 3 months (range 1-11 months) with a mean survival of 7 months (range 1-29 months). Hematological and non-hematological toxic effects were generally mild to moderate and manageable: grade 3 neurotoxicity and grade 3 allergy occurred in 5 patients (13.1%) and 1 patient (2.6%), respectively. Peripheral neuropathy, mostly grades 1 and 2, was reported in 29 patients (76.3%), which was seen more frequently in patients >70 years of age (P=0.048).We conclude that the biweekly administration of a docetaxel/gemcitabine combination with G-CSF support constitutes a tolerable and convenient regimen for the treatment of elderly patients with advanced NSCLC, with efficacy similar to that reported in other regimens. Hence, this two-drug combination appears promising and warrants further evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Medicine, Athens School of Medicine, Sotiria General Hospital, Athens, Greece. knsyrigos@usa.net
authors.forename: K N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Syrigos
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karapanagiotou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charpidou
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dilana
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dannos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dionellis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rigopoulou
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Georgatou
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roussos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D000077143:Docetaxel; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000093542:Gemcitabine
chemical_list: D043823:Taxoids; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D000077143:Docetaxel; D000093542:Gemcitabine