Background & objective: No chemotherapeutic regimen and agent are effective for patients with pretreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of paclitaxel and oxaliplatin in this subset of patients.
Methods: Twenty-two patients who had been pretreated with platinum-based chemotherapy were enrolled into this study. All received paclitaxel (135 mg/m2, intravenous infusion over 3 hours on day 1) and oxaliplatin (130 mg/m2, intravenous infusion over 2 hours on day 1) every 28 days. The whole course of treatment consisted at least 2 cycles.
Results: Of 22 patients, 5 achieved partial response with the overall response rate of 22.7%. Nearly all lesions shrank or remained stable after the first 2 cycles, except for those of 3 patients who showed progressive diseases. Median progression-free duration time was 4 months, and median survival time was 8 months. Commonly encountered toxicities included nausea and vomiting, myalgia/arthralgta, peripheral neuropathy, and myelosuppression.
Conclusion: Paclitaxel plus oxaliplatin combination was a safe and active regimen for patients with pretreated advanced NSCLC and deserves further evaluation.