Treatment with gefitinib in elderly patients or patients with poor performance status (PS) affected with non small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) [Trattamento con Gefitinib nei pazienti anziani o con scarso performance status (PS), affetti da carcinoma polmonare non a piccole cellule (NSCLC)]

The majority of NSCLC patients are elderly, with significant co-pathologies and poor PS. Twenty-five patients with advanced NSCLC were enrolled in this study between October 2002 and April 2006. Sixty percent of them were 65 or older and 48% had a poor PS. The disease was seen to be progressive in all patients after at least one line of chemotherapy. The enrolled patients were treated with 250 mg of gefitinib/day orally. The median overall survival was 2 years from the date of first diagnosis and 12 weeks from the date of first gefitinib administration. One patient showed a partial response and three, stable diseases. Gefitinib was well tolerated, without significant toxicity. EGFR selective inhibitors may therefore be important in the treatment of elderly and/or poor PS patients, who cannot undergo chemotherapy.