Chemotherapy based on regimes of gemcitabine plus cisplatin or vinorelbine plus cisplatin in patients with advanced NSCLC

Objective The combinations of gemcitabine plus cisplatin and vinorelbine plus cisplatin are commonly used in the treatment of advanced non small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) patients.Here we performed this clinical trial to compare the response rate,survival rate and toxicity of the two regimes.Methods From 1998 to 2002,ninety cases of stage Ⅲb/Ⅳ NSCLC patients with a mean age of 58 years(range 30 76) were treated with gemcitabine(GEM,1000mg/m 2) on day 1 and 8 plus cisplatin(CDDP,30mg/m 2) on day 1,2 and 3,or vinorelbine(VNR,25mg/m 2) on day 1 and 8 plus cisplatin(CDDP,30mg/m 2) on day 1,2 and 3.And the cycle was repeated on day 21st.Fifty patients(group A) received GP and forty(group B) received NP.Results In group A,there were 1 complete response and 15 partial response(PR) cases with an overall response rate(ORR) of 30.0%,compared with one complete response(CR),12 PR cases and an ORR of 32.5% in group B( P 0.05).Mean survival time were 9.8 months(95%CI, 8.2 11.3) in group A and 10.2 months(95%CI,8.3 12.0) in group B.One year survival rates for group A and B were 32.0% and 37.5%,respectively.The main side effects came from inhibition on the bone marrow.Grad 3/4 leukopenia in group A and B were 34% and 47.5%,respectively;and grad 3/4 thrombocytopenia in group A and B were 16% and 12.5%,respectively( P 0.05 ).Conclusion Both GP and NP are effective and tolerable regimes for advanced NSCLC patients.But it seems that GP is better for the elder patients.