Abstract:
Objective A study was conducted to observe and compare the efficacy and safety of endostar combined with pemetrexed in elderly patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma.
Methods Sixty advanced lung adenocarcinoma (ⅢB-Ⅳ) patients who never received any therapy were included. The patients were divided into two groups. One group comprised endostar treatment combined with pemetrexed (26 cases of males, 15 cases of females, and 11 cases of individuals aged 65 years old to 78 years old), and the other group comprised pemetrexed only (34 cases of males, 20 cases of female, and 14 cases of individuals aged 65 years old to 78 years old). The two groups were treated for 4 to 6 cycles, and evaluation of treatments was performed every two cycles.
Results The endostar group was re-treated for 80 cycles, and the average cycle was 3.1. The group without endostar was re-treated for 115 cycles. The short-term effects are as follows. The total effective rates (RRs) in the experimental and control groups were 23.1% and 14.7%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The disease control rate (DCR) was not significantly different (P < 0.05). For pleural effusion, RR and DCR were significantly better in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). In the experimental group, compared with PD, the microvessel density (MVD) in the DCR showed higher expression, and a statistically significant difference (P=0.03) was observed. In the control group, compared with PD, the MVD in the DCR also showed higher expression, but no significant difference (P=0.73) was observed. The long-term effects were as follows: median progression-free survival (PFS), median survival, and side effects between the two groups were not significantly different (P < 0.05).
Conclusion Endostar combined with pemetrexed showed increase in total efficiency in elderly patients with lung adenocarcinoma, and malignant pleural effusion was controlled without increasing the toxicity of chemotherapy. MVD can be used as a predictor of Endostar application.