BACKGROUND

Previous studies investigating the effect of increased dose intensity and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not consistently shown significant survival benefits.

METHODS

This retrospective analysis reviewed the outcome of patients receiving palliative chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC (stages III-IV) at the Royal Marsden Hospital. Regimens included cisplatin or carboplatin with either vinorelbine or gemcitabine on days 1 and 8, every 21 days. Patients who received at least four cycles of chemotherapy were classified into groups based on dose intensity, dose reductions, and worst grade of neutropenia for a landmark analysis. Comparisons between these groups for time to progression and overall survival were made by standard univariate and multivariate methods.

RESULTS

One hundred sixty-nine of a total of 190 patients who received more than four cycles of chemotherapy during the period between November 1998 and December 2008 were included. One hundred twenty-five (73.9%) patients received four chemotherapy cycles with the remaining receiving up to six cycles. The median relative dose intensity for platinum was 93.9% (62.1-102%) and for vinorelbine/gemcitabine was 91.7% (37.8-105%). Dose reductions were recorded in 64 patients (37.8%), and 65 patients (38.5%) had grades 3 to 4 neutropenia. There were no statistically significant differences in time to progression and overall survival between any of the subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

This retrospective analysis demonstrates no significant relationship between survival and dose intensity (<90%), modest dose reductions (<20%), or chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in patients receiving standard doublet platinum containing chemotherapy in NSCLC.