Outcomes of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer treated with carboplatin and gemcitabine chemotherapy at nambour hospital 2008/2009

Abstract

Background: Platinum-doublet chemotherapy has been the standard of care for fi rst line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [1]. Gemcitabine and Carboplatin (GC) is the most frequently utilized regimen at Nambour Hospital. We report on the outcomes of patients treated with GC at our institution and compare our results with published data [2-8].Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with stage 3b or 4 NSCLC treated with GC at Nambour Hospital in 2008/2009. Outcomes were compared with clinical trial data [2-8].Results: Thirty six patients were included in the analysis. Median age was 62 years. Treatment was with 4-6 cycles of Carboplatin AUC 5 d1 and Gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 d1+8. Nineteen patients (52.8%) had their che-motherapy ceased early. Nine patients (25%) had progressive disease documented whilst on chemotherapy.Twenty fi ve patients (69.4%) subsequently received second line systemic therapy. This was higher than the rates of second line treatment in comparative trials (range 8-33% [4, 6, 8]).Median time to progression was 3.2 months (published data 4.3-5.11 months). Median overall survival was 8.7 months (published data 7.0-10.49 months) and one year survival 32.4% (published data 29-42%).Conclusion: Patients treated with fi rst line GC at our institution have similar overall and one year survival fi gures to patients treated with the same regimen within the context of a clinical trial. However, our fi gures are likely to be influenced by a higher utilization of second line treatment than in the comparative trials.<br />