ABSTRACT
AIM: The purpose of this study was to compare two single agents paclitaxel (intravenous) versus vinorelbine (oral) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with performance status (PS):2. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The patients were randomized to receive either oral vinorelbine 60 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8, 15 every 4 weeks for 4 cycles (group A) or paclitaxel 90 mg/m(2) intravenously for 1 h on days 1, 8, 15 every 4 weeks for a total of 4 cycles (group B). RESULTS: Among the 74 eligible patients (36 in arm A and 38 in arm B) in arm A, two (6%) had a partial response (95% CI, 0.7-18.7) and 5 (14%) had stable disease (95% CI, 4.7-29.5). In arm B, five (13%) had a partial response (95% CI, 4.4-28.1) and 7 (18%) had stable disease (95% CI, 7.7-34.3). No significant difference was found in terms of clinical benefit between the two groups after two cycles of treatment except for appetite in favour of paclitaxel (p=0.01). Median survival was 3.1 months (95% CI, 2.2-4.0) for arm A and 5.1 months (95% CI, 2.7-7.6) for arm B (p=0.95). Toxicity was mild and only alopecia was more profound in the patients of arm B (p=0.008). CONCLUSION: No significant difference was found in clinical benefit between PS:2 NSCLC patients treated with either vinorelbine or paclitaxel.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/mortality , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/drug therapy , Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy , Adenocarcinoma/mortality , Adenocarcinoma/secondary , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Bone Neoplasms/drug therapy , Bone Neoplasms/mortality , Bone Neoplasms/secondary , Brain Neoplasms/drug therapy , Brain Neoplasms/mortality , Brain Neoplasms/secondary , Carcinoma, Large Cell/diagnosis , Carcinoma, Large Cell/genetics , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/secondary , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/mortality , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/secondary , Disease Progression , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy , Liver Neoplasms/mortality , Liver Neoplasms/secondary , Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy , Lung Neoplasms/mortality , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Lymphatic Metastasis , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/mortality , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/pathology , Neoplasm Staging , Paclitaxel/administration & dosage , Small Cell Lung Carcinoma/drug therapy , Small Cell Lung Carcinoma/mortality , Small Cell Lung Carcinoma/secondary , Survival Rate , Treatment Outcome , Vinblastine/administration & dosage , Vinblastine/analogs & derivatives , VinorelbineABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate gemcitabine-carboplatin (GCb) versus single-agent gemcitabine (G) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and a performance status (PS) of 2. The primary endpoint was clinical benefit. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to either 1250 mg/m of G (arm A) or 1250 mg/m of G plus carboplatin area under the curve of 3 (arm B). Both treatments were given on days 1 and 14 and were repeated every 28 days for up to four cycles. RESULTS: Among the 90 eligible patients (47 in arm A and 43 in arm B), in arm A, two (4%) had partial responses (95% CI, 0.52%-14.5%) and 10 (21%) had stable disease (95% CI, 10.7%-35.7%). In arm B, six (14%) had partial responses (95% CI, 5.3%-27.9%) and nine (21%) had stable disease (95% CI, 10%-36%) (p = 0.14). No significant difference was found in terms of clinical benefit between the two treatment groups after two cycles of treatment or at the end of chemotherapy. Furthermore, no association was found between clinical benefit and response to treatment (p > 0.05). Median survival was 4.8 months (95% CI, 2.45-7.25) for arm A and 6.7 months (95% CI, 2.47-10.8) for arm B (p = 0.49). Neutropenia (p = 0.007) and thrombocytopenia (p < 0.001) were more common in group B. Nevertheless, no significant differences were found in terms of severe toxicities (p > 0.05 in all cases). CONCLUSION: No significant difference was found in terms of clinical benefit in patients with NSCLC and PS 2 who received single-agent G or GCb. Nevertheless, GCb caused more toxicity, particularly neutropenia and thrombocytopenia.
