title: Weekly low-dose docetaxel for salvage chemotherapy in pretreated elderly or poor performance status patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: Although docetaxel monotherapy has shown clinical benefits for previously treated patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the efficacy of salvage docetaxel chemotherapy for elderly patients or patients with poor performance status (PS) is controversial. Therefore, we conducted a phase II trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of weekly low-dose docetaxel monotherapy in these patients. Forty NSCLC patients, who had been previously treated with one or more chemotherapy regimens, received docetaxel at a dose of 25 mg/m(2) weekly on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle. All patients were >or=65 yr or had a PS of grade 2 in the cases of <65 yr. Weekly low-dose docetaxel was well-tolerated. Grade 3/4 non-hematologic toxicities were rare; fatigue in 3 patients (8%), anorexia in 3 patients (8%) and stomatitis in 2 patients (5%). Grade 3/4 neutropenia was noted in only one patient (3%). By intent-to-treat analysis, nine patients (23%) had partial responses and eleven patients (28%) demonstrated stable disease. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 9.9 weeks and 37.7 weeks, respectively. Weekly low-dose docetaxel therapy provides a reasonable alternative for NSCLC salvage treatment in pretreated elderly patients or in patients with a reduced PS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University, Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Keun-Wook
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Joo Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Jee Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Choon-Taek
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jong Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D000077143:Docetaxel; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016019:Survival Analysis; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel