Abstract
Elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are usually excluded from most clinical trials because of the toxicity associated with chemotherapy. About 50% of the new cases of lung cancer occur in patients older than 65 years. Doxifluridine is a fluoropyrimidine derivate which can be administered orally with very low toxicities. This phase II study evaluates the toxicity and activity of a home therapy with oral doxifluridine in elderly advanced NSCLC patients. Thirty-three advanced NSCLC patients, aged 70 years or more, entered the study: median ECOG performance status was 1 (0-2) and 22 patients (66.6%) had metastatic disease. Doxifluridine was given orally in three divided doses, for a total daily dose of 2.250 mg, for 4 consecutive days every week. The treatment was well tolerated: five patients (15%) experienced a grade 3 diarrhea which required doxifluridine dose reduction to 1,500 mg daily. Thirty-one patients are evaluable for response: four partial responses (12.9%) have been observed (95% confidence limit interval 3.6-29.8%); 17 patients (54.8%) had a stabilization of the disease. This study demonstrates that a home therapy with oral doxifluridine in elderly NSCLC patients is feasible and well tolerated and should encourage further studies.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 592-594 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | American Journal of Clinical Oncology: Cancer Clinical Trials |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1996 |
Keywords
- Advanced non-small-cell lung cancer
- Elderly patients
- Oral doxifluridine
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research