The efficacv and safety of pemetrexed as monotherapy for Chinese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer / 中华内科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the outcome of pemetrexed as monotherapy for Chinese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital.Methods From February 2006 to August 2009, 69 patients with advanced NSCLC, including 36 (52.2% ) men and 33 (47.8%) women, received pemetrexed monotherapy.Six patients had squamous cell carcinoma, 57 adenocarcinoma, 6 unspecified.Median survival (MS) and progress-free survival (PFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.Results Adverse events (AEs) were generally mild (grade 1 and 2) and reversible. The most frequent AEs were gastrointestinal adverse events, skin rash, fever and fatigue. Total 5 cases with 3/4 grade AEs were reported, including fever, fatigue, rash, decreased platelets and elevated ALT/AST. The objective tumour response rate and stable disease rate were 10.1% (7/69) and 47.8% (33/69) respectively. Median PFS of all patients was 4.7 months (95% CI 3.0 -6.4) and mean overall survival was 14.7 months (95% CI 11.5 - 17.9).Conclusions Our study suggests that treatment with pemetrexed may be well-tolerated and beneficial for some Chinese patients after failure of prior chemotherapy. The rate of disease control is high and the frequency of 3/4 grade AEs is very low.