The purpose of this multicentric Phase II study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a gemcitabine/oxaliplatin/vinorelbine combination as first-line therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients. Patients followed a fortnightly drug schedule, receiving on day 1, vinorelbine 25mg/m(2) (20-min infusion); gemcitabine 700 mg/m(2) (70-min infusion, fixed 10mg/m(2)/min); and on day 2, oxaliplatin 85 mg/m(2) (2-h infusion). Thirty-nine patients with a median age of 58 years received a total of 306 cycles (median 8 cycles); 67% were males. Most had adenocarcinoma (51%), large-cell (23%) and squamous cell carcinoma (21%); 15% had stage IIIB and 85% stage IV. There was one complete response (3%; 95% CI: 0.1-13%), 15 partial responses (PR) (38%; 95% CI: 23-55%), and 13 patients with stable disease (33%; 95% CI: 19-50%) of at least 2 months duration, for an overall non-progression rate of 74%. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.1 months (95% CI: 3.1-8.7) and overall survival was 11.7 months (95% CI: 7.7-19.4). No treatment-related deaths occurred and very few grade 3-4 events were observed. Overall, the regimen was well tolerated and the planned recommended dose intensity was safely delivered to more than 95% of patients. This triple combination therapy study yielded favourable efficacy and toxicity results, which merit further evaluation in prospective randomised trials.