Objective: To perform a retrospective analysis of carboplatin (CBDCA) and weekly paclitaxel (PTX) combination chemotherapy for elderly patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in order to evaluate both treatment efficacy and toxicity.
Subjects: 48 patients aged more than 70 years with non-resectable NSCLC who received CBDCA+weekly PTX from January 2001 to March 2008.
Results: The median age of the patients (32 male, 16 female) was 74 years. Patients received 1-6 courses of this chemotherapy (median 4 courses). The overall response rate, time to progression, median survival time and 1-year survival rate was 51%, 183 days, 411 days and 52%, respectively. With regard to toxicity, grade 3-4 neutropenia was observed in 38% of patients and anemia in 25% of the patients, and 29% of the patients had grade 2 and above periferal nerve disorder.
Conclusion: This regimen showed a good response and was safe for elderly patients with advanced NSCLC, but a high incidence of neuropathy was observed.