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The purpose of the present study was to determine the maximum-tolerated doses (MTDs) and the dose-limiting toxicities of a metronomic administration of oral vinorelbine and cisplatin in patients with advanced/metastatic NSCLC. Twenty-six patients with advanced/metastatic NSCLC were enrolled. Escalating doses of vinorelbine (40-70 mg p.o./trice per week) and cisplatin (70-85 mg/m intravenous infusion) were administered on day 1 every 3 weeks. ΜΤDs were reached at 60 mg thrice/week p.o. for vinorelbine and 85 mg/m for cisplatin. Grade 4 neutropenia, febrile neutropenia and grade 4 diarrhea were the dose-limiting events during the first cycle of chemotherapy. The most common grade III-IV hematologic toxicity was neutropenia occurring in seven (27%) patients, while non-hematological toxicities were relatively infrequent and mostly of grade I or II. Objective responses were observed in 20.8% of patients with measurable disease. The regimen of metronomic administration and cisplatin is feasible and active in patients with NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy and toxicity of the docetaxel and capecitabine combination in patients with previously treated, unresectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Patients and Methods: Patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, pre-treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy, were treated with capecitabine (800 mg/m orally, twice a day for 14 days) and docetaxel (75 mg/m i.v, on day1), every 3 weeks. The primary end-point was overall response rate (RR). Results: Thirty-one patients were enrolled in the study; 93.6% of them had a performance status (PS) of 0-1 and 96.8% had stage IV disease. Patients received a median of 4 cycles/patient, and the main reason for treatment discontinuation was disease progression. Partial response was observed in three (9.7%) patients, stable disease in seven (22.6%) (disease control rate: 32.3%, 95% CI: 15.80-48.71%) and disease progression in 21 (67.6%). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 2.4 months (95% CI: 1.6-3.13) and the median overall survival (OS) was 6.3 months (95% CI: 3.38-9.23); the estimated 1-year survival rate was 14.7%. Grade III/IV neutropenia occurred in 10 (32.2%) patients and febrile neutropenia in one patient. Other severe non-hematologic toxicities were mild and manageable. After 2 chemotherapy cycles, pain control occurred in 20% of patients and stabilization of body weight in 40%. Conclusion: The combination of docetaxel/capecitabine may confer good disease control associated with improvement of quality of life as second-line chemotherapy in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]