Clinical Comparison of First-Line Platin Chemotherapy Regimens In Patients With Advanced Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Using German Registry Data

OBJECTIVES: Lung cancer, one of the most frequent cancers worldwide, is a leading cause of mortality. Most patients are diagnosed in stages IIIB/IV where available therapy is mainly palliative. Aim of the analysis was to compare progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the most prevalent platinum-based chemotherapy regimens in NSCLC. METHODS: Data from the prospective, multicenter Tlimor Registry Lung Cancer assessing oncology care in Germany was utilized. NSCLC patients staged IIIB/IV who received antineoplastic first-line treatment between 2010-2013 were identified. Patient and tumor characteristics, systemic therapies, PFS and OS of patients receiving one of the three most prevalent first-line platinum-based chemotherapies were descriptively compared using an unadjusted analysis, and an inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis adjusting for predefined parameters age, gender, stage, ECOG, and smoking status. RESULTS: In total, n=280 patients received either pemetrexed/platin (Pern/Plat, n=158), paclitaxel/platin (Pac/Plat, n=52) or vinorelbine/platin (Vin/Plat, n=70). Pac/Plat patients were older (65.94 vs. 63.6 Pern/Plat, 63.48 years Vin/Plat), and more often male (90% vs.