Pooled analysis of elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with front line docetaxel/gemcitabine regimen: The Hellenic Oncology Research Group experience

Introduction: Thirty to 40% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are older than 70 years and rarely are enrolled in clinical trials. Moreover, in clinical practice, >75% of patients older than 65 years with metastatic NSCLC never receive any kind of chemotherapy. Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the impact of age on efficacy and toxicity of chemotherapy regimens in patients with advanced NSCLC treated with the docetaxel-gemcitabine combination. Patients and Methods: Pooled data from six clinical trials of the Hellenic Oncology Research Group were analyzed. According to their age, patients were divided into two groups: those with age <70 years and those with >= 70 years. Results: A total of 858 patients were included in this analysis. Six hundred sixty-six (77.6%) patients were younger than 70 years, whereas 192 (22.4%) patients where >= 70-year-old. Overall response rate was 30.3% and 30.2% for patients <70 years and 70 years, respectively (p = 0.974). The median time to tumor progression was 4.1 and 4.5 months for patients <70 years and >= 70 years, respectively (p = 0.948). Median overall survival was 9.9 and 9.2 months for patients < 70 and >= 70, respectively (p = 0.117). The multivariate analysis revealed performance status (PS) (p = 0.0001) and stage (p = 0.0001) as independent factors with significant impact on the hazard of death. Chemotherapy was well tolerated, but the incidence of grade III/IV mucositis was significantly higher in elderly patients (0.2% versus 1.5% for patients <70 versus 70 years, respectively; p = 0.011). Conclusion: The docetaxel/gemcitabine regimen has a comparable efficacy and tolerance in young (<70 years) and elderly (70 years) patients.