Gemcitabine alone versus gemcitabine plus carboplatin in treatment of elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Objective To compare the efficacy and toxicity of gemcitabine and gemcitabine plus carboplation in treatment of elderly patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods 48 eligible patients above 65 years old who had previously been left untreated and were in stageⅢB orⅣNSCLC were randomly assigned to receive either gemcitabine alone(1000 mg/m~2 on days land 8 ) or gemcitabine plus carboplatin(area under the curve 5 on day 1 ) every 21 days. Results The overall response rate was 20.8%in gemcitabine group and 33.3%in gemcitabine with carboplatin group,respectively (P0.05).The median overall survival time was 8.2 months in gemcitabine group and 9.6 months in gemcitabine with carboplatin group(P0.05 ).The 1-year overall survival rate was 32.1%in gemcitabine group and 39.4%in gemcitabine with carboplatin group,respectively(P0.05 ).The frequency of grades 3 to 4 leucopenia and thrombocytopenia was significantly higher in the gemcitabine with carboplatin group(P for both variables0.05 ) but without associated increase in fever,infection or bleeding. Conclusion In advanced NSCLC,the single gemcitabine or gemcitabine plus carboplatin is tolerable and effective for elderly patients with advanced stages ⅢB and Ⅳ NSCLC.