A prospective study to see the feasibility, efficacy and toxicity of induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation in stage iii non-small cell lung cancer

Purpose: This study was designed to observe the epidemiology, acute toxicities, overall survival at one year, disease free survival (DFS) and progression free survival (PFS) for stage III non-small cell lung cancer. Materials and methods: After undergoing pretreatment assessment with history, physical examination and baseline laboratory investigations and imaging, eligible patients were treated with two cycles of induction chemotherapy consisting of injections Paclitaxel, Carboplatin followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy with weekly injections Paclitaxel, Carboplatin and 66 Gy radiation. Evaluation was done weekly during treatment, at 6th weeks after completion of treatment and thereafter 3 monthly till the end of study. Results: Among 42 patients, males (95.2%), smokers (85.7%) were predominant with squamous cell carcinoma (52.4%) as most common histology. Mean age of diagnosis was 55.1 years. Overall response rate (Complete Response + Partial Response) was 66.7% at one year. Acute toxicities were tolerable and managed conservatively. Mean DFS and PFS were 10 months and 11.8 months respectively. Conclusion: To conclude this study was feasible as the toxicities were limited and manageable. Most of the patients responded well. For further conclusion, large number of patients should be included and compared to a control arm.