Efficacy and Toxicity of Metronomic Oral Vinorelbinen in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer after Failure to Multiple-lines Treatments

Abstract

Background and objective The development of new treatments beyond first-line in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) contributed to the increase in overall survival. Metronomic chemotherapy involves several mechanisms of anti-tumor with less toxicity. Oral vinorelbine has paved the way for innovative treatment strategies through metronomic regimens. Therefore, this study assessed the efficacy and safety of metronomic oral vinorelbinen in advanced NSCLC after failure to multiple-lines treatments. Methods Our retrospective study enrolled 26 patients who received metronomic oral vinorelbinen. Survival factors were evaluated by univariate regression analysis. Results The median follow-up time was 4 months (range 2-12). The median number of treatment cycles was 2 (range 1-8). No patient achieved complete remission, 2 cases (8%) partial remission, 11 cases (42%) stable disease, 13 cases (50%) progression disease. Overall response rate was 8% and disease control rate was 50%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 2 months. In univariate analysis, patients with performance status (PS)=1 had a statistically significantly longer PFS than patients with PS=2. Gender, age, smoking status and histology were not prognostic factors according to PFS. Treatment was well tolerated with rare serious toxicity. No grade 4 adverse events (AEs) or occurrences of intolerable toxicity were observed. There was no treatment-related death and none of the study patients required hospitalization for treatment-related adverse events. Conclusion Metronomic oral vinorelbinen is effective in advanced NSCLC after the failure of multiple lines treatments with an acceptable AE profile, especially in patients with high PS.

Keywords

• Lung neoplasms
• Vinorelbinen
• Metronomic chemotherapy
• Efficacy
• Safety