Importance of dose intensity in treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer in the elderly.
Maintaining appropriate dose intensity is important not only in the curative setting but also in treatment with palliative intent. We evaluated the outcome of advanced non small cell lung cancer treated with doublet platinum based chemotherapy. Outcome was compared between patients treated by medical oncologists at a tertiary cancer center and those treated by non medical oncologists in the community. The dose intensity, overall response rate and overall survival was significantly better when patients were treated by trained qualified and experienced medical oncologists. Hence, even in the palliative setting, cancer directed systemic therapy will yield maximum benefit for the patients when treated by medical oncologists.
Department of Medical Oncology, Kiran Majumdar Shah Cancer Center, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Narayanan
N
Prasad
Jupiter Hospital, Thane, India.
Ashish
A
Bakshi
Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune, India.
Chetan
C
Deshmukh
Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune, India.
Sachin
S
Hingmire
Joshi Hospital, Pune, India.
Aa
A
Ranade
Director of Clinical Research, BSES GH Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Purvish
P
Parikh
chemotherapy; medical oncologist; prolonged infusion; response rate