Effectiveness of treatment with endostatin in combination with emcitabine, carboplatin, and gemcitabine in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective study

Abstract

Abstract This study investigated the clinical efficacy, safety and tolerance of endostatin combined with gemcitabine and carboplatin for patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). From January 2010 to January 2014, 49 patients with advanced NSCLC were retrospectively evaluated; we defined 2 subgroups: a combination group (chemotherapy + anti-angiogenic therapy) and a chemotherapy group (chemotherapy only). The cases in the chemotherapy group received treatment with gemcitabine and carboplatin only, whereas the cases in the combination group received endostatin in combination with gemcitabine and carboplatin. The patients received 2 cycles of treatment (21 days/cycle). The clinical efficacy and adverse events were observed and compared. The disease control rate in the combination group was significantly higher compared with the chemotherapy group (P < 0.05). When comparing the cases of squamous carcinoma, the disease control rate in the combination group was significantly higher than the chemotherapy group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the progression free survival in the combination group was higher than that for the chemotherapy group, with a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). The combination of endostatin with chemotherapeutic agents is improve to the survival of patients with advanced NSCLC favorably; the adverse events of this regimen are well tolerated.