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Front-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer with irinotecan and docetaxel: a multicentre phase II study

Lung Cancer. 2005 Oct;50(1):115-22. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2005.05.004.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of the irinotecan plus docetaxel combination in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-nine chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced NSCLC were treated with irinotecan 200mg/m2 followed by docetaxel 80 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1 with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (150 microg/m2) support from day 2 to 9. Treatment was repeated every 3 weeks.

RESULTS: A partial response was achieved in 9 (23%; 95% confidence interval 9.85-36.3%) patients; stable and progressive disease were observed in 10 (25.6%) and 20 (51.4%) patients, respectively. The median duration of response was 7.1 months and the median time to tumor progression 3 months. The median survival time was 10.8 months and the 1-year survival 42.2%. Four (10.3%) patients developed grade 4 neutropenia and all but one were complicated with fever; there was no treatment-related death. Nine (23.1%) patients developed grade 3 or 4 diarrhea while grade 2 or 3 fatigue occurred in nine (23.1%), and grade 3 mucositis in two (2.6%).

CONCLUSION: The combination of irinotecan/docetaxel is a relatively active non-platinum-based chemotherapy regimen with manageable toxicity, which could be given in an outpatient basis; this regimen merits to be further studied in order to improve its tolerance and evaluate its clinical relevance in patients who can not tolerate platinum-based doublets.

PMID:15993981 | DOI:10.1016/j.lungcan.2005.05.004

CONCLUSION: The combination of irinotecan/docetaxel is a relatively active non-platinum-based chemotherapy regimen with manageable toxicity, which could be given in an outpatient basis; this regimen merits to be further studied in order to improve its tolerance and evaluate its clinical relevance in patients who can not tolerate platinum-based doublets.

Panagiotis Ziotopoulos, Nikolaos Androulakis, Efthimia Mylonaki, Vassilios Chandrinos, Emmanouel Zachariadis, Ioannis Boukovinas, Athina Agelidou, Nikolaos Kentepozidis, Michail Ignatiadis, Andreas Vossos, Vassilis Georgoulias, Lung Cancer Committee of the Hellenic Oncology Research Group (HORG)

2005-07-05

Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

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