Estudio retrospectivo en pacientes con diagnóstico de carcinoma de pulmón no microcítico estadio avanzado tratados con la combinación gemcitabina y vinorelbina: valoración de la eficacia terapéutica y factores pronósticos

introduction: gemcitabine (g), vinorelbine (v) and their combination (gv) have shown to be useful in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (nsclc). the purpose of this study is to confirm the activity of gv administration and to identify prognostic factors related with the clinical outcome. methods: a retrospective analysis was carried out in relation to 144 patients with nscl treated between october 1996 and april 2005 with g (1000-1250 mg/m2) + v (25-30 mg/m2) both administered on days 1 and 8 every three weeks. results: treatment was well tolerated, grade 3-4 neutropenia being registered as the worse toxic effect in 18% cases, including 7% of neutropenic fever. the objective response rate was 36.8% (95% ci: 28.9-44.7) and the median progression free survival and overall survival rates were 21 (18-25) and 33 (26-40) weeks respectively. in multivariate analysis only the histology of adenocarcinoma (hr 3; p<0.001), less than two metastatic sites (hr 1.7; p<0.02) and karnofsky index (ki) above 70% (hr 1.5; p<0.02) showed a significant association with longer survival. conclusion: the gv combination therapy is well tolerated and active in patients with advanced nsclc. the histology of adenocarcinoma, less than two metastatic sites and ki above 70% were identified as independent variables related with longer survival.