Combination of low-dose gemcitabine in 6-hour infusion and carboplatin is a favorable option for patients in poor performance status with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of the regimen of low-dose gemcitabine combined with carboplatin in chemo-naïve patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study involved 37 chemo-naive patients with unresectable stage IIIB or stage IV NSCLC. The predominant histological type was squamous carcinoma (22/37), and the performance status (PS) was 2 in 23 patients (62%). All received gemcitabine, 250 mg/m² in 6-hour infusion on days 1 and 8 plus carboplatin area under the curve (AUC)  =  5 on day 1, every 28 days. The overall response rate (ORR) was 62·2% and disease stabilization was achieved in 21·6% of the patients. After a median follow-up duration of 13 months, the median overall survival (OS) time was 14·0 months (95% CI 13·3–16·6 months), and the median progression-free survival (PFS) time was 7·0 months (95% CI 6·1–8·9 months). Hematological toxicities were well-tolerated with the development of grade 3/4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia in 10·3 and 10·3% of patients respectively, and the gastrointestinal toxicities were mild.

Keywords:

• Low-dose gemcitabine
• 6-hour prolonged infusion
• Carboplatin
• Lung cancer
• Deoxycytidine kinase

Acknowledgements

We thank Ms Yuwen Du (Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University) for the linguistic revision and proofreading of this paper.