Purpose: Our objective was to assess the efficacy and toxicity of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin + weekly divided-dose docetaxel in patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Methods: A total of 34 patients aged less than 75 years old with locally advanced stage III NSCLC were enrolled. The patients received intravenous infusions of cisplatin (80 mg/m(2); day 1) and docetaxel (20 mg/m(2); days 1, 8, 15), followed by a week's drug-free interval. Standard concurrent thoracic radiotherapy was given for 6 weeks (2 Gy per fraction; total dose, 60 Gy).
Results: Over Grade 3 neutropenia, esophagitis and pulmonary toxicities were observed in 23.5, 17.6 and 11.8% of the cases, respectively. One complete response and 20 partial responses were obtained, with an objective response rate of 61.8%. The median survival time was 26.4 months (95% CI 16.9--not reached) and the 1- and 3-year survival rates were 76.5 and 41.2%, respectively.
Conclusion: Cisplatin + weekly docetaxel with concurrent radiotherapy is a feasible and effective regimen for locally advanced NSCLC.