Chemotherapy of gemcitabine plus cisplatin or vinorelbine plus cisplatin for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and toxicity of GP(gemcitabine+cisplatin) and NP(vinnorelbine + cisplatin) regimens in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods From 1998 to 2001,76 cases of stage Ⅲb/Ⅳ NSCLC patients were treated with gemcitabine(GEM,1000mg/m2) on day 1 and 8 plus cisplatin(CDDP,30mg/m2) on day 1,2 and 3,or vinorelbine(NVB,25mg/m2) on day 1 and 8 plus cisplatin(CDDP,30mg/m2) on day 1,2 and 3.And the cycle was repeated on day 21.Thirty-eight patients(group GP) received GP and 38 patients(group NP) received NP.Results In group GP,there were 1 complete response(CR) and 19 partial response(PR) cases with an overall response rate(ORR) of 36.8%,compared with 2 CR,19 PR cases and an ORR of 44.7% in group NP(P0.05).Mean survival time were 10.14 months in group GP and 9.02 months in group NP.One year survival rate for groups GP and NP were 31.38% and 28.95%,respectively.The main toxicity was hematological toxicity.Anemia in groups GP and NP were 92.1% and 73.7%,respectively(P0.05),and thrombocytopenia in groups GP and NP were 92.1% and 68.4%,respectively(P0.05).The incidence of leukopenia in group HP was significantly higher than that in GP,with the grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ leukopenia in group GP and NP were 15.8% and 44.7%,respectively(P0.05).Conclusion Both GP and NP are effective and tolerable regimens for advanced NSCLC patients.The efficacy of GP is similar to that of NP,but it seems that GP is more eligible for elderly patients.