Maintenance Therapy with Gefitinib for Elderly Patients in Advanced Adenocarcinoma of Lung

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of using gefitinib as maintenance therapy after chemotherapy. Methods Patients achieved partial response or disease stabilization following the last chemotherapy was devided into maintenance group.Gefitinib was administered at the dose of 250 mg/d. Results From Jan. 2006 to Jun. 2008, we enrolled 40 patients.Response rate to gefitinibwas 52.38% (11/21) in maintenance group and 21.05% (4/19) in control group(P<0.05),respectively.In comparison with control group, patients in maintenance group had longer time to survival (median OS ： 16.19 months vs.7.90 months, (P<0.05).The toxicity profile was mild and there was no significant difference between two groups. Conclusion Maintenance therapy with gefitinib was feasible and safe, which produced significantly longer OS of elderly patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma.