Abstract:

ＯｂｊｅｃｔｉｖｅTo observe the efficacy and toxic reaction of  pemetrexed or docetaxel as secondline drug for  advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC)in elderly patients.ＭｅｔｈｏｄｓFiftysix elderly patients with  relapse NSCLC were divided into two groups.In singleagent pemetrexed group，26 cases received pemetrexed at a dose of 500 mg/m2 on first day，and repeated every 3 to 4 weeks. In singleangent docetaxel group，30 cases were treated with docetaxel at a dose of 35 mg/m2 weekly for 4 weeks as a  cycle.ＲｅｓｕｌｔｓThe effective rate in pemetrexed group and docetaxel group was 192%and 167%respectively；the median survival time was 98 months and 81 months, respectively;1year survival rate was 192% and 200%, respectively.In two groups,  the toxicities were tolerable.There was no grade  Ⅲ or Ⅳ  hematological toxicity in pemetrexed group.ＣｏｎｃｌｕｓｉｏｎｓElderly patients with relapse NSCLC could benefit from singleagent pemetrexed or docetaxel as secondline treatment. Pemetrexed has a more tolerable toxicity than docetaxel.