No Difference in Cisplatin/Etoposide, Carboplatin/Etoposide in Lung Cancer

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

Researchers sought to determine the differences in overall survival and locoregional control rates in patients treated with cisplatin and etoposide versus patients treated with carboplatin and etoposide.

Study participants were patients with small cell lung cancer who had both limited and extensive disease. All patients included in the study were diagnosed with small cell lung cancer between January 2004 and December 2008. There were 249 patients with limited disease small cell lung cancer and 287 patients with extensive disease small cell lung cancer.

The patients who received cisplatin and etoposide were older in both the limited disease group (median 62 vs. 72, P<0.001) and the extensive disease group (median 62 vs. 73, P<0.001). The median time to follow-up was 22 months for extensive disease and 37 months for limited disease and the overall survival was 18 months and 23 months, respectively (P=0.10).

Rates of locoregional control at the 12 month mark were 68% for patients treating with carboplatin and etoposide and 81% for patients treated with cisplatin and etoposide (P=0.97). The median overall survival for patients with extensive disease small cell lung cancer was 10 months in patients receiving carboplatin and etoposide and 11 months in patients receiving cisplatin and etoposide (P=0.24).

Overall the researchers concluded that there was no significant difference in patients who were treated with either treatment option, even when considering the age of the patient or the stage of their disease.