Clinical study of thalidomide combined with NP regimen for advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of thalidomide combined with NP regimen in treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to analyse the change of VEGF and bFGF in peripheral blood in patients with advanced NSCLC. Methods 57 patients with advanced NSCLC were divided randomly into NP plus thalidomide treatment group and NP contrast group,and VEGF and bFGF were measured by ELISA. Results The response rate was 44.4 % in trial group and 23.8% in control group (P>0.05). The clinical benefit rate were 77.8% in trial group and 42.9% in control group (P>0.05). The median TIP was 5.1 months and 3.0 months for trial group and control group respectively(P=0.05). Patients in benefit in trial group had a remarkable decrease in the number of VEGF (P 0.05). Patients out of benefit in trial group and control group had a increase in the number of VEGF (P 0.05) while patients out of benefit in trial group and control group had a remarkable increase in the number of bFGF(P<0.05). Conclusion The addition of thalidomide to NP regimen results in significantly and clinically meaningful improvement in response rate, median time to tumor progression, and clinical benefit rate compared with NP alone in advanced NSCLC patients.Thalidomide in combination with chemotherapy shows a favorable toxic profile in advanced cancer patients.VEGF and bFGF can be detected in patients with advanced NSCLC. Key words: Carcinoma,non-small-cell lung; Antineoplastic combined chemotherapy protocols; Vascular endothelial growth factors; Fibroblast growth factor 2