Clinical Observation on Docetaxel with Cisplatin Followed by Gemcitabine in Patients with Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Objective To determine the activity and toxicity of two sequential chemotherapy regimens(docetaxel and cisplatin followed by gemcitabine) in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods Eighty-four patients with stage ⅢB/Ⅳ NSCLC were randomly divided into two groups.Group A(n=43) treated with three cycles of 75 mg/m2 cisplatin plus 75 mg/m2 docetaxel on day 1 every 21 days;Group B(n=41) with three cycles of 25 mg/m2 cisplatin plus 25 mg/m2 docetaxel on days 1,8 and 15 every 28 days;Then followed by three cycles of 1000 mg/m2 gemcitabine on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks in both groups.Results There were no CR in the 83 cases(the final patients A was 43 and B was 40).There were 22 PR,12 SD in group A,and 20 PR,15 SD in group B.The overall response rates were 51.2% in group A and 50% in group B.Grade Ⅲ/Ⅳ neutropenia was the main observed toxicity(55.1% in group A and 12.5% in group B).Conclusion The sequential approach of cisplatin plus docetaxel followed by single-agent gemcitabine is feasible.Weekly administration of platinum-docetaxel is associated with an improved safety profile and similar efficacy to the conventional three-weekly schedule.