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Combination
chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel should be the
standard treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer
rather than paclitaxel alone, according to a study presented
at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical
Oncology.
"Not
only did the results of the trial show an increase in response
rate, but more importantly an increase in survival time in
patients who received carboplatin and paclitaxel," said
Dr. Rogerio Lilenbaum, Chairman, Cancer and Leukemia Group
B (CALGB) and lead investigator of the study. "In addition,
the results clearly demonstrate that elderly patients and
the sickest patients may benefit from this regimen."
There
was an average survival of 8.8 months in patients who received
the combination therapy versus 6.7 months in patients receiving
the single therapy, a 24 percent increase in the duration
of survival for the combination group.
"Typically,
patients treated with combination chemotherapy experience
more severe toxicity than those treated with single agents,"
said Dr. Richard L. Schilsky, Associate Dean for Clinical
Research at the University of Chicago. "However, the
combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel resulted in only
minimal increases in toxicity levels."
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of June 2, 2002
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