Yanan Ge,Zhendong Zheng,Zhaozhe Liu,Jianing Qiu,Xiaodong Xie. Effect of etoposide plus thalidomide as maintenance therapy on progression-free survival of elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Oncol Transl Med, 2017, 3: 103-107.
Effect of etoposide plus thalidomide as maintenance therapy on progression-free survival of elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer
Received:November 28, 2016  Revised:June 06, 2017
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KeyWord:etoposide; thalidomide; advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); maintenance therapy
Author NameAffiliationE-mail
Yanan Ge Department of Oncology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang 110016, China Gynpl_a@163.com 
Zhendong Zheng Department of Oncology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang 110016, China  
Zhaozhe Liu Department of Oncology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang 110016, China  
Jianing Qiu Department of Oncology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang 110016, China  
Xiaodong Xie Department of Oncology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang 110016, China doctor_xxd@163.com 
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Abstract:
      Objective?The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of etoposide plus thalidomide as maintenance therapy for elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without disease progression after first-line chemotherapy. Methods?After four to six cycles of platinum-based first-line therapy, 64 elderly patients with advanced NSCLC without disease progression who were treated in the General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region (China) from 2014 to 2016 were enrolled in this study. According to the different maintenance treatment methods, patients were divided as having received etoposide plus thalidomide therapy (treatment group, n = 32) and best supportive care (control group, n = 32). Disease control and progression-free survival (PFS) were compared between the two groups. Results?The recent curative effect objective response rates of the treatment group and the control group were 31.3% and 3.1%, respectively, and the disease control rates were 71.9% and 31.3%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves of the two groups were significantly different (χ2 = 26.532, P = 0.001). The median PFS for the treatment group and control group was 6.0 months [95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.3–7.9 months] and 3.2 months (95% CI = 2.6–3.8 months), respectively. The side effects in the treatment group included hematologic abnormalities, gastrointestinal toxicity, and impaired liver function, which were relieved after symptomatic support therapy and drug withdrawal. Conclusion?Etoposide plus thalidomide as maintenance therapy is associated with a significantly longer PFS with tolerable toxicity for elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.
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