The role of weekly nanoparticle albumin bound paclitaxel monotherapy as second line or later treatment for advanced NSCLC in China

For patients with pretreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), more effective treatments are unmet. We conducted a study to explore the optimal treatment schedule of nanoparticle albumin bound paclitaxel (Nab-PTX) as a second line or later treatment for advanced NSCLC patients in China. Ninety-eight patients, who had experienced failure of prior treatment and received Nab-PTX monotherapy (130 mg/m(2)) on days 1, 8 of a 21-day cycle were included. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 4.34 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.508 to 5.165 months) and 11.73 months (95% CI 9.211 to 14.247 months), respectively. The objective responses rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 22.4% and 74.5%. Prior treatment with taxane and line of therapy did not influence the efficacy of Nab-PTX. The main grade 3 to 4 toxicities were neutropenia (25.5%) and leukopenia (12.4%). Furthermore, 24 cases offered samples to assess secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) expression. No statistical difference was observed in treatment efficacy between SPARC expression-negative and positive. The findings suggest that weekly Nab-PTX monotherapy is effective and well tolerated for patients with pretreated advanced NSCLC, regardless of prior taxane exposure or line of therapy.