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Gemcitabine and carboplatin in the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic non‐small cell lung cancer
Author(s) -
LEOW ChaiHooi,
LIAM ChongKin
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
respirology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1440-1843
pISSN - 1323-7799
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1843.2005.00760.x
Subject(s) - carboplatin , medicine , gemcitabine , lung cancer , performance status , regimen , chemotherapy , oncology , progressive disease , combination chemotherapy , cisplatin
Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the response, survival advantage and toxicity profile of gemcitabine–carboplatin combination cytotoxic chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced and metastatic non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methodology: Patients who received gemcitabine‐carboplatin combination chemotherapy over a 2.5‐years period were analyzed. Carboplatin at a dose of 5 mg/mL/min (area under the concentration‐time curve) was given on day 1 and gemcitabine (1000 mg/m 2 ) on days 1 and 8, every 3 weeks. Results: Of 49 chemotherapy‐naive patients (median age, 62 years) who received this treatment, 57% were males, 12% had stage IIIa, 39% stage IIIb and 49% metastatic disease. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 70% of the patients was 1 at the time of commencement of chemotherapy and 2 for the remaining 30% of patients. The overall response rate, based on 33 evaluable patients, was 27.3%. The response rate was not affected by age, stage of disease or performance status. The median survival was 9 months. Median survival among patients with an ECOG performance status of 1 was 11 months, as compared with 4 months for patients with an ECOG performance status of 2 ( P < 0.001). Toxicity was generally well tolerated and there were no treatment‐related deaths. Conclusions: Gemcitabine‐carboplatin combination chemotherapy is an effective and well‐tolerated cytotoxic regimen among Malaysian patients with advanced NSCLC. A performance status of 1 or less was associated with a better survival.