Gemcitabine combined with cisplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy for non‐small cell lung cancer: A retrospective analysis

Background This study was conducted to evaluate the value of gemcitabine combined with cisplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy for radical resection of non‐small cell lung cancer. Methods Data of 100 patients who had undergone radical resection of non‐small cell lung cancer and were treated with cisplatin/gemcitabine as adjuvant chemotherapy between J une 2007 and D ecember 2010 at the C hinese A cademy of M edical S ciences were reviewed . Results The median age was 59 years (range 36–73); 82% of the patients were male. Forty‐two percent had adenocarcinoma and 55% had squamous cell carcinoma. Most patients had pathologic IIB (29%) and IIIA (44%) stage disease. Eighty‐five percent of patients completed four cycles of chemotherapy, with 76% completing the planned full dose. The main reason for a reduced gemcitabine dose in 13 patients was grade 3/4 neutropenia or thrombocytopenia. The median dose and dose intensity were 8377.1 mg/m 2 and 708 mg/(m 2 /week) for gemcitabine and 293.38 mg/m 2 and 25.24 mg/(m 2 /week) for cisplatin, respectively. During follow‐up the median disease‐free survival was 33.8 months (95% confidence interval [ CI ] 15.938–51.676). Patients with squamous cell carcinoma (hazard ratio [ HR] 0.404, 95% CI 0.241–0.676; P  = 0.001) and pathologic stage I ( HR 4.379, 95% CI 1.721–11.142; P  = 0.002) achieved better disease‐free survival. The survival rates at one, two, and five years were 94%, 77%, and 55%, while the survival rates without recurrence were 64%, 53%, and 39%, respectively. Conclusion As an adjuvant chemotherapy regimen, gemcitabine with cisplatin is well tolerated. Patients with squamous cell carcinomas or pathologic stage I achieve better results.