Abstract
Aims and Background
Amrubicin monotherapy can be an effective treatment option for patients with recurrent small cell lung cancer (SCLC). We conducted this retrospective study to investigate the prognostic factors in patients with recurrent SCLC receiving amrubicin monotherapy.
Methods
The associations between survival and clinical data, including the performance status, body mass index (BMI), plasma lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, and plasma neuron-specific enolase level, were evaluated in patients with recurrent SCLC, and a subset analysis of patients with platinum-resistant disease was conducted.
Results
In all, 37 patients were evaluated. The median survival from the date of initiation of amrubicin monotherapy was 9.1 months (95% confidence interval 4.7–12.0 months). Multivariate analysis using a Cox proportional hazard model identified the plasma LDH level (p = 0.049), BMI (p = 0.031), and platinum resistance (p = 0.032) as independent factors associated with survival. The same associations were also observed in the subset of patients with platinum-resistant disease.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that the plasma LDH level and BMI may be useful prognostic factors in patients with SCLC receiving amrubicin monotherapy, including patients with platinum-resistant disease.
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