ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of chemotherapy combined with amino acid on quality of life(QOL)in elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). Methods Seventy-four elderly patients with NSCLC were divided randomly into experimental group and control group.The same NP(cisplatin+vinorelbine)chemotherapy was carried out in all the 2 groups for 3 cycles.Except of chemotherapy,experimental group were treated with amino acid 500 ml/d in the same time,while control group recieved chemotherapy only.After 3 monthes,the QOL was analyzed using Chinese Version of European Organization for Researeh and Treatment of Cancer(EORTC)core questionnaire(QLQ-C30)and specific lung cancer module QLQ-LC13,and therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated according to WHO standard as well. Results After chemotherapy,the body function,mood function,social function were better in experimental group than in control group(all P＜0.05),the effective rate was 87.8%,83.8%and 77.0%in experimental group;77.0%,45.9%and 45.9%in control group.Insomnia(8.1%),suppressed appetite(5.4%),weary(47.3%)were less serious in experimental group than in control group(17.6%,17.6%and 59.5%)(all P＜0.05).The primary symptoms were cough,emptysis,thoracalgia and dyspnoea in both 2 groups before chemotherapy.All the symptoms were alleviated after chemotherapy.Some patients have side effects such as tongue pain,alopecie,hand and foot tingle.But the number of patients with tongue pain was less in experimental group(8.3%)than in control group(18.4%).The chemotherapy effect had no difference by the WHO standard. Conclusions The QOL of elderly patients with NSCLC can be improved by chemotherapy combined with amino acid treatment,and the treatment with amino acid 500 ml/d is safety.