[Daily low-dose cisplatin plus concurrent high-dose thoracic radiotherapy in elderly patients with locally advanced unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer].

There are few prospective studies of concurrent chemoradiotherapy in elderly patients with locally advanced unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although the therapy has proved superior to radiotherapy alone for the treatment of younger patients. We conducted a pilot study to assess the tolerance and efficacy of concurrent cisplatin and thoracic radiation in elderly patients with locally advanced unresectable NSCLC. Eligible patients were more than 71 years old and had unresectable Stage I, II, or III NSCLC. Cisplatin was administered at 6 mg/m2 daily intravenously on days 1 through 5, days 8 through 12, days 29 through 33 and days 36 through 40. Beginning day on 1, thoracic radiation was delivered at 2.0 Gy daily to a total dose of 60 Gy. Twelve patients were registered and 11 were eligible. Patient characteristics were ages of 73 to 80 years, and stage III A (18%) and stage III B (73%) NSCLC. The most common grade 3 toxicities included leukopenia (20%) and thrombocytopenia (9%). Grades 3/4 elevation of serum creatinin, esophagitis and pneumonitis did not occur. The overall confirmed response rate was 82%, and median overall survival was 23 months. The 2-year survival rate was 53%. This chemoradiotherapy regimen is well tolerated with promising response and survival in elderly patients with unresectable NSCLC.