Long-term survivors of more than 5 years in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to evaluate the rate of long-term survival of more than 5 years in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).MethodsOne-hundred and twenty-four patients with advanced NSCLC treated with chemotherapy from September 2002 to October 2003 were reviewed.ResultsTen (8%) patients survived for more than 5 years. The median survival time (MST) for the 10 patients was 61.5 months, ranging from 60.1 to 81.0 months. All of the 10 patients had performance status (PS) 0 or 1 and adenocarcinoma. As the initial treatment, 9 patients were treated with a platinum-containing chemotherapy [median progressive free survival (PFS), 10.7 months] and 8 patients received gefitinib as the second or third line chemotherapy (median PFS, 28.7 months). Nine patients received cytotoxic agents after first line chemotherapy (median duration of the chemotherapy, 22.4 months). A mean regimen of chemotherapy was three (range, 1–8). Re-challenge of gefitinib was performed in 2 patients, and surgical resection of solitary brain metastasis was performed as the initial treatment in 2 patients.ConclusionOur results suggest that good performance status, adenocarcinoma and EGFR-TKI therapy play an important role in the long-term survivors of more than 5 years.