• C Bilir, S Durak, B Kızılkaya, I Hacıbekiroglu, E Nayır, and H Engin.
• Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya.
• Curr Oncol. 2017 Jun 1; 24 (3): e199-e204.

BackgroundMetronomic chemotherapy-administration of low-dose chemotherapy-allows for a prolonged treatment duration and minimizes toxicity for unfit patients diagnosed with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (nsclc).MethodsOral metronomic vinorelbine at 30 mg thrice weekly was given to 35 chemotherapy-naïve patients who were elderly and vulnerable to toxicity and who had been diagnosed with advanced nsclc.ResultsMedian age in this male-predominant cohort (29:6) was 76 years (range: 65-86 years). Histology was squamous cell carcinoma in 21 patients and adenocarcinoma in 14. There were no complete responses and 9 partial responses, for an overall response rate of 26%. Stable disease was seen in 15 patients (43%), and 11 patients (31%) had progressive disease. The 1-year survival rate was 34%, and the 2-year survival rate was 8%. The survival analysis showed a median progression-free survival duration of 4 months (range: 2-15 months) and an overall survival duration of 7 months (range: 3-24 months).ConclusionsMetronomic vinorelbine had an acceptable efficacy and safety profile in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities who had been diagnosed with advanced nsclc. Metronomic vinorelbine could be a treatment option for elderly patients with poor performance status who are unfit for platinum-based chemotherapy and intravenous single-agent chemotherapy, and who are not candidates for combination modalities.

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