Abstract
Background: No data on the tolerability and effects of pamidronate in non-small cell lung cancer patients with bone metastasis are available. We performed a retrospective analysis to evaluate the routine use of pamidronate in these patients. Patients and Methods: One hundred and four patients with NSCLC were treated at our Day Hospital between May 2003 and February 2009. Forty-one (39.5%) presented with bone metastasis during the course of the disease. Thirty (73.2%) of these patients received pamidronate at a dose of 90 mg every four weeks. Results: The occurrence of bone metastasis was associated with a poor overall survival, but patients treated with pamidronate had a significantly better median overall survival than untreated patients (15.4 months vs. 2.1 months; p<0.001). Pamidronate was well tolerated and only grade 1 or 2 toxicities were registered. Conclusion: The diagnosis of bone metastasis and the consequent routine administration of pamidronate have an impact on survival of NSCLC patients; this drug is a good candidate for routine use in haemato-oncological centres.
Footnotes
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↵* Both authors contributed equally to this work.
- Received July 4, 2009.
- Revision received October 29, 2009.
- Accepted November 2, 2009.
- Copyright© 2009 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved