Background: Although the number of advanced lung cancer patients on hemodialysis is expected to increase in the future, there has been no established treatment regimen yet. We report our experience with gemcitabine safely administered to an elderly patient requiring hemodialysis who had advanced lung adenocarcinoma.
Case: A 87-year-old man had been on dialysis for chronic renal failure. Left pleural effusions were detected in November 2007 and he was admitted to our hospital in January 2008. A diagnosis of Stage IIIB lung adenocarcinoma was made based on the findings of cytology from the pleural effusions and radiological examinations. After intrapleural cisplatin administration, he was given outpatient chemotherapy. Gemcitabine was administered every 14 days for 20 months. Adverse reactions observed included grade 1 neutropenia and grade 1 appetite loss.
Conclusion: We described a dialysis patient with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who was given biweekly gemcitabine for 20 months. This regimen in a dialysis patient can be safely conducted on an outpatient basis.