Chinese Journal of Lung Cancer (Jul 2009)
Clinical Observation of Erlotinib in the Treatment of Elderly Patients with Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
Abstract
Background and objective About 80% lung cancer is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and more than 70% are in advanced stage. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy and the side effects of erlotinib in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Methods Twenty-nine patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer were treated with erlotinib 150 mg/d, then the adverse reaction and clinical efficacy were recorded during 3 months. Results Total 29 patients were evaluated for efficacy. The total rate of effect was 20.69%, including 1 case CR, 5 cases PR, 9 cases SD and 14 cases PD. We compared the effective rate of stage Ⅲ with Ⅳ. There were no significant difference between the effective rate of stage Ⅲand Ⅳ (P=0.337). The main side effects were rash (37.93%), diarrhea (17.24%) and vomiting (6.9%) and most side effects were grade Ⅰand Ⅱ. Conclusion Erlotinib for elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer have better effective and less toxic effects and the further clinical study should be warranted.
