Induction Chemotherapy With Triweekly Docetaxel and Cisplatin Followed by Concomitant Chemoradiotherapy With or Without Surgery in Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Phase II Study

Background: The main goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectivity of triweekly docetaxel/cisplatin followed by weekly docetaxel/cisplatin concomitantly with radiotherapy with or without surgery in locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Materials and Methods: Thirty five patients with locally advanced NSCLC were enrolled. Combination chemotherapy with triweekly docetaxel/cisplatin (75 mg/m(2)) was administered as induction regimen. After induction chemotherapy, patients were evaluated for surgery if their disease subsequently downstaged. Six cycles of weekly docetaxel/cisplatin (20 mg/m(2)) concurrently with radiotherapy up to a 60 Gy were administered after induction chemotherapy with or without surgery. Response, toxicity, time-to-progression and overall survival were evaluated. Results: Twelve patients with stage IIIA-N2 and 23 patients with stage IIIB-T4N0-2 were evaluated (median age, 54 years). After 94 cycles of induction chemotherapy, partial response was achieved in 20 patients, 9 patients had stable disease and six had progressive disease. After overall treatment, 6 patients achieved complete response, 19 patients had partial response, 8 patients had progressive disease, and 2 patients had stable disease. Two patients experienced grade 3-4 pulmonary toxicity and 1 patient experienced grade 3 esophageal toxicity. Six patients underwent surgery. Median overall survival for all patients was 15 months and time-to-progression was 13 months with a median follow-up of 22 months. Conclusion: Triweekly docetaxel plus cisplatin followed by weekly docetaxel plus cisplatin concomitantly with radiotherapy is effective and feasible and seems to be an alternative option for patients who have locally advanced NSCLC. Surgery may provide additional benefit for patients whose disease adequately downstaged after induction chemotherapy.