Clinical and pharmacokinetic study of docetaxel in elderly non-small-cell lung cancer patients

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness and pharmacokinetics of docetaxel in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Patients and methods: Chemotherapy-naive elderly patients (aged at least 76 years) with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer were accrued. Eligible patients received at least two cycles of docetaxel at a dose of 60 mg/m² on day 1 over 1 h every 3 weeks. Patients who were considered ineligible for this study were also registered. Symptom control was assessed using a questionnaire during the treatment period. The pharmacokinetics of docetaxel were evaluated in the first cycle of chemotherapy. Results: Of 35 elderly patients, 15 (43%) met the study eligibility criteria. The reasons for ineligibility consisted mainly of poor performance status, poor bone marrow function, and hypoxemia (six patients each). A total of 49 cycles of chemotherapy (median 2 cycles, range 1-12 cycles) were administered to the eligible patients, six of whom achieved a partial response (overall response rate 40%, 95% confidence interval 15-65%). The major toxicity was hematologic, with grade 3 or greater neutropenia and grade 3 neutropenic fever developing in 13 patients (87%) and five patients (33%), respectively. Symptoms, as assessed in terms of the symptom control score, did not clearly decline during the treatment period. The values (mean ± SD) of C_max, AUC _{0 → inf}, and t_1/2 were 1.35 ± 0.32 μg/ml, 1.79 ± 0.52 μg h/ml, and 4.1 ± 2.3 h, respectively. Conclusions: Although the validity of the results of this study is limited due to the small sample size, docetaxel appears effective in selected elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.