Refractory non-small-cell lung cancer responding to combination chemotherapy with docetaxel, gemcitabine and cisplatin

The combination of docetaxel (TXT), gemcitabine (GEM), and cisplatin (CDDP) produced a regression in a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung that had recurred after radiation therapy plus chemotherapy, and was resistant to the combination of carboplatin (CBDCA) with etoposide (ETP) or paclitaxel (TXL). The patient was a 62-year-old man with squamous cell lung cancer, which was first successfully treated by a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, but showed local recurrence after 8 months. Although the recurrence was treated with CBDCA plus ETP and then TXL, the tumor continued to grow with symptomatic progression of airway stenosis. The tumor began to regress after the regimen of TXT, GEM and CDDP was started. This therapy achieved PR with symptomatic improvement. The combination of TXT, GEM and CDDP may be effective for recurrent non-small-cell lung carcinoma, even in patients that have failed to respond to more than one chemotherapy regimen.