Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of, and compliance with a regimen using split-dose cisplatin and vinorelbine (split-CV) as adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Patients and methods: The treatment schedule included cisplatin at 40 mg/m(2) and vinorelbine at 25 mg/m(2) administered intravenously on days 1 and 8, every three weeks for four cycles.
Results: This study included 22 patients (male/female; 12/10) with a median age of 67 (range 50-76) years; 10 had clinical stage II and 12 stage III; 21 had ECOG 0 and 1 patient ECOG 1; 15 patients had adenocarcinoma, 5 squamous cell and 2 adenosquamous carcinoma; 18 patients had undergone lobectomy, 3 pneumonectomy and 1 segmentectomy. Seventeen out of 22 patients (77%) received the planned 4 cycles. The main adverse events were grade 3/4 neutropenia (76%) and anemia (12%). The average total doses of cisplatin and vinorelbine were 285 mg/m(2) and 177 mg/m(2), respectively.
Conclusion: The split-CV regimen is well-tolerated as adjuvant chemotherapy for completely resected NSCLC.
Keywords: Non-small cell lung cancer; adjuvant chemotherapy; cisplatin; split-dose; vinorelbine.