4.5 Article

Pemetrexed single agent in previously treated non-small cell lung cancer: A multi-institutional observational study

Journal

LUNG CANCER
Volume 60, Issue 2, Pages 240-245

Publisher

ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2007.10.008

Keywords

non-small cell lung cancer; second-line; chemotherapy; pemetrexed

Ask authors/readers for more resources

Several drugs have been approved for the treatment of patients affected by advanced non-small. cell tung cancer (NSCLC) in progression after first line chemotherapy: Docetaxel, Pemetrexed and Erlotinib. Poor gain of survival has been demonstrated in randomised trials and patient characteristics predicting activity are poorly known yet. We evaluated the activity and toxicity of Pemetrexed, in a post-registration phase, to assess whether clinical benefits justify its employment in a second-line setting in routine clinical practice. Patients and methods: We collected data on patients with advanced NSCLC treated with Pemetrexed 500 mg/m(2) every 21 days, after progression to prior chemotherapy. Results: One hundred and sixty patients from 4 different Italian Institutions, treated with Pemetrexed, mostly as second-line therapy, were analysed. There was a predominance of mates versus females, adenocarcinoma versus other histologies; the median age was 63.6 years. The toxicity profile was extremely mild and the response rate (11.2% patients in complete or partial response) was similar to previous reports from the literature. The median overall survival, 12 months, was better than previously reported. Conclusion: Improved efficacy and mild toxicity observed in this clinically relevant patient population confirms Pemetrexed as an interesting choice in second-line treatment of NSCLC. Patient characteristics alone are not able to predict response to Pemetrexed. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.5
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available