For Elderly Patients with Lung Cancer, Biweekly Paclitaxel Plus Carboplatin Found Safe, Effective

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

Biweekly paclitaxel and carboplatin is effective and well-tolerated in elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a Japanese study published in Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology.

“Although several studies have suggested the benefit of chemotherapy with a platinum doublet for elderly patients with advanced NSCLC, this treatment is still controversial in this age group,” wrote researchers led by Kenzo Soejima, MD.

Dr. Soejima his colleagues at the Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo examined 65 patients who were aged 70 years or older and had clinical stage 3-B or 4 NSCLC. In a multicenter, non-randomized, open label, phase 2 trial, these patients received paclitaxel and carboplatin on day 1 and 15 every 4 weeks. Primary endpoint was the overall response rate, with secondary endpoints being progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and safety.

The researchers found that the response rate was 29.4 percent, with disease control rates at 78 percent. Median PFS was 3.8 months while OS was 17.3 months. In addition, the most common grade 3 or 4 toxicities were found to be neutropenia (27 percent), leukopenia (15 percent), infection (10 percent), and anemia (8 percent).