Biweekly administration of docetaxel and vinorelbine as second-line chemotherapy for patients with stage IIIB and IV non-small cell lung cancer: a phase II study of the Galician Lung Cancer Group (GGCP 013-02)

Abstract

The current report aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of a biweekly administration of docetaxel and vinorelbine to patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, who had previously been treated for this disease. In a prospective, multicenter, open-label, phase II trial, patients received 40 mg/m of docetaxel and 20 mg/m of vinorelbine on days 1 and 15, every 28 days. Treatment continued for up to a maximum of six cycles, unless disease progression or unacceptable toxicity occurred, or consent was withdrawn. Fifty patients were enrolled in the study and they received 174 cycles of chemotherapy, with a median of three cycles per patient. All patients were evaluated for efficacy and toxicity in an intention-to-treat analysis. The overall response rate was 10% [95% confidence interval (CI): 1-19], including one complete response (2%) and four partial responses (8%). Previous chemotherapy of 80% of the responders included paclitaxel. Median time to disease progression was 2.7 months (95% CI: 2.2-4.3) and median overall survival was 6.5 months (95% CI: 2.5-9.2). The survival rates at 1 and 2 years were 18% (95% CI: 7-29) and 4% (95% CI: 0-10), respectively. The most frequent severe toxicities were neutropenia (20% of patients) and leukopenia (8% of patients). Other toxicities appeared in 4% or fewer of the patients. Biweekly administration of docetaxel and vinorelbine is feasible as a second-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer patients, but its level of activity and toxicity does not suggest any advantage compared with the results obtained with single-agent docetaxel in the same setting.