Efficacy and Safety of Docetaxel plus Ramucirumab for Patients with Pretreated Advanced or Recurrent Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: Focus on Older Patients.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Combination therapy with docetaxel (DTX) and ramucirumab (RAM) has been used as a second-line treatment for advanced or recurrent lung cancer. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the safety of angiogenesis inhibitors in older patients.

OBJECTIVE:

This multicenter retrospective study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of second-line treatment regimens in older patients with advanced or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

We retrospectively analyzed 145 patients aged ≥ 70 years with advanced or recurrent NSCLC treated with second-line chemotherapy after platinum-based therapy between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2021. Patients were subdivided into the DTX + RAM (n = 38) and single-agent (n = 107) groups.

RESULTS:

The median time to treatment failure was 6.3 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.6-9.6) in the DTX + RAM group and 2.3 months (95% CI 1.7-3.0) in the single-agent group (p < 0.01). The median overall survival was 15.9 months (95% CI 12.3-Not Achieved) in the DTX + RAM group and 9.4 months (95% CI 6.9-15.1) in the single-agent group (p = 0.01). Grade ≥ 3 adverse events frequency was not significantly different between the two groups, except for edema. Patients in the DTX + RAM group who did not discontinue treatment owing to adverse events exhibited the most favorable prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS:

These findings suggest that the DTX + RAM combination is an effective second-line therapy for older patients with advanced or recurrent NSCLC, offering favorable efficacy without treatment discontinuation owing to adverse events.

• Authors: Keisuke Onoi, Tadaaki Yamada, Kenji Morimoto, Hayato Kawachi, Rei Tsutsumi, Takayuki Takeda, Asuka Okada, Nobuyo Tamiya, Yusuke Chihara, Shinsuke Shiotsu, Yoshizumi Takemura, Takahiro Yamada, Isao Hasegawa, Yuki Katayama, Masahiro Iwasaku, Shinsaku Tokuda, Koichi Takayama
• Journal: Targeted oncology (Target Oncol) (Mar 11 2024) ISSN: 1776-260X [Electronic] France
• PMID: 38467958 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.