Gemcitabine plus UFT combination chemotherapy as second- or third-line therapy in non-small cell lung cancer: a pilot study.

Background : Gemcitabine plus UFT combination chemotherapy are highly ef- fective and less toxic in the first line setting in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The purpose of the study is to confirm the feasibility of this regimen as second- or third-line therapy in NSCLC. Methods : Fifteen patients with performance status of 0-1 were enrolled. UFT (tegafur 250 mg/m 2 /day) was administered orally twice a day from days 1-14, and gemcitabine of 900 mg/m 2 was administered intravenously on days 8 and 15 every three weeks on an outpatient setting. The treatment was repeated for at least 3 cy- cles and continued unless the disease progressed. Results : The response rate and the dis- ease control rate were 6.7% and 66.7%, respectively. Grade 3-4 toxicities included neutro- penia in one patient and elevation of transaminases in one patient. The mean relative dose intensity of gemcitabine and UFT were 0.93 and 0.97, respectively. Conclusion : High disease control rate and less toxicity suggested the potential of gemcitabine and UFT combination chemotherapy as second- or third-line therapy in NSCLC. J. Med. Invest. 55 : 260-266, August, 2008