Effect of pemetrexed as a third-line drug for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer
YAN Hao
ZHANG Heng
WANG Hui
Abstract：Objective To observe the effect of pemetrexed as a salvage chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after failure of multiple therapies.Methods We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of pemetrexed in 17 patients with advanced NSCLC,who had failed at least platinum-based doublet combinations and erlotinib or gefitinib.The patients were given single drug pemetrexed q21d dl (600 mg/m2) as a third line therapy.Through the analysis of performance status,number of cycles given,EGFR and K-ras mutation status,best response,adverse reactions,time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) were used to assess the effects.A median of 6 cycles of infusion was given.Results Nine out of 17 patients experienced partial response,Five cases were stable and three were progressed.The TTP and OS of salvage pemetrexed therapy were 113 and 321 days,respectively.The EGFR mutation status did not affect its efficacy.It was well-tolerated and required no dose modification.Conclusion Pemetrexed is a good option for patients with good performance status who have failed platinum-and taxane-containing regimens and EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Keywords：Carcinoma,Non-small cell lungPemetrexedThird-line treatment
Publication Date：2013-11-30
Online Publishing Date：2026-09-14(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：3( 1563-1565 )