Objective To compare the efficacy and tolerance of platinum-based doublet chemotherapy versus single-agent chemotherapy as second-line treatment in elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods A total of 85 elderly patients with advanced NSCLC after first-line treatment were retrospectively analyzed and divided into the combination therapy group(n=40,taking platinum-based doublet chemotherapy)and the single-agent chemotherapy group(n=45,receiving single-agent second-line chemotherapy).Results There were no significant differences in the objective response rate (ORR)and the disease control rate (DCR)between the combination therapy group and the single-agent chemotherapy group(27.5 ％ or 11/40 vs.20.0 ％ or 9/45,60.0％ or 24/40 vs.73.3％ or 33/45,x2 =0.662 and 1.704,P=0.416 and 0.192).The median progression-free survival(PFS)was 3.8 months for the combination therapy group and 2.8 months for the single-agent chemotherapy group(P =0.045).The rate of grade Ⅲ/Ⅳ hematological toxicity was higher in the combination therapy group than in the single-agent chemotherapy group.Conclusions Platinum-based doublet chemotherapy has longer PFS than the single-agent chemotherapy as secondline treatment in elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer,and more attention should be paid to its high hematological toxicity.

BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are often associated with non-EGFR genetic alterations, which may be a reason for the poor efficacy of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Here we conducted this study to explore whether EGFR-TKIs combined with chemotherapy would benefit advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with both sensitive EGFR mutation and concomitant non-EGFR genetic alterations. METHODS: Cases of advanced lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR mutation combined with concomitant non-EGFR genetic alterations were retrospectively collected. And the patients were required to receive first-line EGFR-TKIs and chemotherapy combination or EGFR-TKIs monotherapy. Demographic, clinical and pathological data were collected, and the electronic imaging data were retrieved to evaluate the efficacy and time of disease progression. Survival data were obtained through face-to-face or telephone follow-up. The differences between the two groups in objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were investigated. RESULTS 107 patients were included, including 63 cases in the combination group and 44 cases in the monotherapy group. The ORR were 78% and 50% (P=0.003), and DCR were 97% and 77% (P=0.002), respectively. At a median follow-up of 13.7 mon, a PFS event occurred in 38.1% and 81.8% of patients in the two groups, with median PFS of 18.8 mon and 5.3 mon, respectively (P<0.000,1). Median OS was unreached in the combination group, and 27.8 mon in the monotherapy group (P=0.31). According to the Cox multivariate regression analysis, combination therapy was an independent prognostic factor of PFS CONCLUSIONS: In patients with EGFR-mutant advanced lung adenocarcinoma with concomitant non-EGFR genetic alterations, combination of TKIs and chemotherapy was significantly superior to EGFR-TKIs monotherapy, which should be the preferred treatment option.
Adenocarcinoma of Lung/genetics* ; ErbB Receptors/genetics* ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Mutation ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies