Cisplatin-based therapy for the treatment of elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: a retrospective analysis of a single institution.

BACKGROUND: In spite of the fact that platinum-based doublets are considered the standard therapy for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), no elderly-specific platinum based prospective phase III regimen has been explored. The aim of this retrospective singlecenter study was to evaluate the efficacy and side effects of cisplatin-based therapy specifically for the elderly. METHODS: Patients receiving platinum-based treatment were divided into three groups. In the first group (GC), Gemcitabine was administrated at 1000 mg/m2 on days 1, 8 and cisplatin was added at 75 mg/m2 on day 1. In the second group (DC), 75 mg/m2 docetaxel and cisplatin were administered on day 1. The third group (PC) received 175 mg of paclitaxel and 75 mg of cisplatin on day 1. These treatments were repeated every three weeks. RESULT: GC arm had 36, the DC arm 42 and the PC arm 29 patients. Grade III-IV thrombocytopenia was higher in the GC arm (21.2% received GC, 2.8% received DC, and 3.8% received PC), while sensory neuropathy was lower in patients with GC arm (3.0%, 22.2%, and 23.1% received GC, DC and PC, respectively). There were no statistically significant difference in the response rates among the three groups (p>0.05). The median Progression-free survival (PFS) was 5.0 months and the median Overall survival (OS) in each group was 7.1, 7.4 and 7.1 months, respectively (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The response rate, median PFS and OS were similar among the three treatment arms. Grade III-IV thrombocytopenia was higher in the GC arm, while the GC regimen was more favorable than the other cisplatin-based treatments with regard to sensory neuropathy.