Clinical Response of Docetaxel Plus Cisplatin and Paclitaxel Plus Carboplatin Chemotherpy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Almost 80% of primary lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and their prognosis is very poor since only one-fourth of patients with NSCLC present with a resectable disease at the time of diagnosis. During the last 10 years, the role of chemotherapy for NSCLC has been expanding as an adjunctive to radiation and surgery, as well as to palliative therapy for stage IV NSCLC. This study is a retrospective analysis of two chemotherapeutic regimens for the treatment of advanced NSCLC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1999 and December 2001, 109 patients with histologically proven NSCLC (> or = stage IIIA), who received either the DP (Docetaxel 75 mg/m2 +Cisplatin 75 mg/m2, n=63, 57.8%) or the TC (Paclitaxel 175 mg/m2+ Carboplatin 5* AUC mg, n=46, 42.2%) combination chemotherapies were included. RESULTS: The patients ages ranged from 46 to 77 years, and the patients in the DP group (56.3+/-8.6 years) were younger than those in the TC group (62.1+/-8.8 years) (p0.05). Grade 3~4 peripheral neuropathy occurred in 5 patients (7.9%) in the DP group and in 8 (17.4%) in the TC group (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The combination chemotherapies of docetaxel plus cisplatin and paclitaxel plus carboplatin are active against advanced stage NSCLC, with acceptable toxicities. As there are differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups, no differences in survivals or response rates could be concluded.