Abstract
Background: No investigation of amrubicin monotherapy in pre-treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients has yet been reported. Patients and Methods: The records were reviewed of NSCLC patients who had received amrubicin monotherapy between 2003 and 2007 with the following eligibility criteria: previously treated with at least two regimens including platinum and docetaxel for non-adenocarcinoma patients and platinum, docetaxel and epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) for adenocarcinoma patients. Amrubicin was administered to both groups at 35 mg/m2 or 40 mg/m2 for 3 consecutive days, every 3 weeks. Results: Thirty-nine patients were registered. The median number of prior chemotherapy regimens was three (range: 2 to 7). The median number of courses per patient was three (range one to 9). The toxicity profile was acceptable with no grade 3 or higher non-hematological toxicity. The overall response rate was 10.2% . The median survival time was 4.8 months. Conclusion: Amrubicin exhibits activity and acceptable toxicity as third or subsequent line of chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC.
Footnotes
- Received July 22, 2008.
- Revision received October 7, 2008.
- Accepted October 15, 2008.
- Copyright© 2008 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved