Tegafur-uracil plus gemcitabine combination chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer previously treated with platinum.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

An open-label, single-arm prospective study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of gemcitabine and tegafur-uracil (UFT) in patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after the failure of previous platinum-containing regimens.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Patients with advanced NSCLC received 200 mg/m2 of UFT twice daily from day 1 through 14 plus 900 mg/m2 of gemcitabine per day via intravenous injection on days 8 and 15. This regimen was repeated every 3 or 4 weeks.

RESULTS:

A total of 40 patients were enrolled. Eleven patients (28%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 15-44%) achieved a partial response. The median progression-free survival, median overall survival, and 1-year survival rate were 4.0 months (95% CI, 3.3-6.7 months), 12.6 months (95% CI, 7.0-22.3 months), and 51% (95% CI, 33-66%), respectively. The most common grade 3 or 4 toxicity was neutropenia (38%; 95% CI, 23-54%) and the rate of grade 3 or 4 nonhematologic toxicity remained at less than 5%. A multivariate Cox model showed that adenocarcinoma, nonsmoking history, and good performance status predicted better survival.

CONCLUSIONS:

Combination chemotherapy with UFT and gemcitabine showed a promising effectiveness and acceptable toxicity for patients with platinum-resistant NSCLC.

• Authors: Takashi Seto, Takeharu Yamanaka, Makiko Nakano, Mayuko Ota, Riichiroh Maruyama, Tatsuro Okamoto, Hiroshi Wataya, Kazutsugu Uematsu, Nobuhiko Seki, Kenji Eguchi, Hiroshi Semba, Yukito Ichinose
• Journal: Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (J Thorac Oncol) Vol. 3 Issue 6 Pg. 637-42 (Jun 2008) ISSN: 1556-1380 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 18520804 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Phase II, Comparative Study, Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Randomized Controlled Trial)

Chemical References

• Organoplatinum Compounds
• Tegafur
• Uracil

Topics

• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols (therapeutic use)
• Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung (diagnosis, drug therapy, mortality)
• Disease-Free Survival
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Injections, Intravenous
• Japan (epidemiology)
• Lung Neoplasms (diagnosis, drug therapy, mortality)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Neoplasm Staging
• Organoplatinum Compounds (therapeutic use)
• Retrospective Studies
• Survival Rate
• Tegafur (administration & dosage, therapeutic use)
• Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• Treatment Outcome
• Uracil (administration & dosage, therapeutic use)