Results of a phase II study of weekly paclitaxel plus carboplatin in patients with extensive small-cell lung cancer with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status of 2, or age > or = 70 years.

PURPOSE

To determine the 1-year survival, response rate (RR), time to progression (TTP), and safety of weekly paclitaxel plus carboplatin (PC) in patients with extensive small-cell lung cancer (ESCLC) with an Eastern Cooperative Performance Status performance status (PS) of 2 or an age > or = 70 years.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients were treated with PC (paclitaxel 80 mg/m(2) and carboplatin area under the curve = 2) by intravenous infusion on days 1, 8, and 15 of every 4-week cycle for up to six cycles.

RESULTS

Between July 2000 and December 2001, 77 eligible patients (50.6% were male, 97.4% were white, 44.2% had PS of 2, with median age of 74 years) with ESCLC were enrolled. Among the 66 patients who were assessable for response, 25 responded to treatment (one complete response and 24 partial responses), for an objective RR of 38%. There were eight cases of stable disease (12.1%) and 33 cases of progressive disease (50%). The median survival was 7.2 months (range, < 1 to 24.4 months), and the estimated 1-year survival rate was 30%. The median TTP was 3.5 months (range, < 1 to 21.2 months), and the estimated 1-year progression-free survival rate was 8%. The median duration of response was 4.5 months (range, 1.6 to 17.5 months). One death (sepsis) was possibly related to the study drugs. Grades 3 and 4 toxicities experienced by > or = 5% of patients included neutropenia (22.1%), fatigue (8.6%), anemia (5.2%), and nausea/vomiting (5.2%).

CONCLUSION

This regimen produced relatively few toxicities (only two of the 66 assessable patients received fewer than two cycles because of toxicity), and both the median and 1-year survival were similar to other regimens. This regimen may be a preferable treatment choice for patients with ESCLC who have a poor PS or who are aged > or = 70 years.