Platinum-doublet regimens and docetaxel as first- and second-line chemotherapy,
respectively, are shown to prolong the survival of lung cancer patients in various
randomized phase III studies. However, the evidence for the efficacy of chemotherapy
for lung cancer in the clinical practice is still insufficient. In the present study, we
investigated the effectiveness and safety of outpatient chemotherapy for lung cancer in
the clinical practice. Ninety-four lung cancer cases were retrospectively analyzed. Among
these cases, 67 (71.3%) were non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 27 (28.7%) were
small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The response rates in SCLC and NSCLC patients were
55.6% (15/27) and 16.9% (11/65), respectively. Objective tumor response rates for the patients
were found to decrease substantially with each line of treatment as described previously.
All adverse events were well tolerated and no treatment-related death was observed.
Median time to treatment failures (TTFs) of first-line treatment were 10.1 months
and 4.8 months in SCLC and NSCLC, respectively. These findings indicate that even in
the setting of clinical practice, the efficacy and safety of chemotherapy is strictly insured
by the appropriate therapeutic management
