Carboplatin plus pemetrexed for platinum-pretreated, advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective study with pharmacogenetic evaluation

Purpose In the present study, the combination of carboplatin (CBDCA) plus pemetrexed (PMX) for the treatment of patients with platinum-pretreated, pemetrexed-naïve, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was investigated. Also, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the XRCC3 , XPD , ERCC1 , GARFT , DHFR , and TS genes were investigated. Methods Eighty patients treated with CBDCA/PMX at two Italian institutions were evaluable. Of these, 73 patients had blood samples collected for pharmacogenetic evaluation. Results Overall, the median age was 59 years (26–78), 59 patients (73.7%) had a performance status of 0, and 34 patients (42.5%) had stage IIIB disease. Thirty-eight patients (47.5%) had responded to prior first-line platinum-based therapy. Study treatment resulted into one complete and 33 partial responses for an overall response rate of 42.5%. The disease control rate was 77.5%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 5.8 and 17.4 months, respectively. Responders achieved a significant longer PFS and OS versus non-responders ( P = 0.007 and P = 0.003, respectively). The only grade 3–4 adverse event occurring in more than 5.0% of patients was neutropenia (6 patients, 7.5%). No statistically significant association was noted between polymorphisms of the genes analyzed and clinical outcome. Conclusions In patients with platinum-pretreated, advanced NSCLC and favorable clinical prognostic factors, treatment with CBDCA/PMX is associated with a good clinical outcome and toxicity profile. None of the SNPs analyzed was found to be a useful predictor of treatment efficacy.