[Combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer].

BACKGROUND: To study the efficacy and toxicity of combined chemotherapy of paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Seventy-eight patients with advanced NSCLC received combined chemotherapy of paclitaxel 150 mg/m² and carboplatin 300 mg/m². RESULTS: The response rate of native patients was 56.9% (33/58) and that of the repeated treatment group was 35% (7/20). The overall response rate was 51.3%(40/78). Four patients (5.1%) had complete response. The median duration of survival was 9 months, and 1-year survival rate was 33.3% (26/78). Toxicity was chiefly hematologic in the form of neutropenia. The major nonhematologic toxicity was arthromyalgia. CONCLUSIONS: Combination chemotherapy of paclitaxel and carboplatin is well tolerated and effective in the treatment of advanced NSCLC.