Table 1.
Patient demographics and clinical characteristics
| Demographics or clinical characteristics | Cis/carboplatin and pemetrexed (n = 116) | Cis/carboplatin and gemcitabine (n = 30) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age, years | 60.7 ± 10.9 | 60.8 ± 9.9 | 0.945 |
| Male: Female | 58 : 58 | 14 : 16 | 0.745 |
| Asbestos exposure, n (%) | 113 (97.4) | 29 (96.7) | 0.827 |
| Mean Karnofsky Performance Status | 85.7 ± 9.9 | 80.3 ± 8.7 | 0.062 |
| Histology, n (%) | |||
| Epithelial | 92 (79.3) | 22 (73.3) | 1.00 |
| Sarcomatous | 9 (7.8) | 2 (6.7) | |
| Mixed | 12 (10.3) | 5 (16.7) | |
| Unidentified | 3 (2.6) | 1 (3.3) | |
| Stage, n (%) | |||
| I | 6 (5.2) | 2 (6.7) | 0.662 |
| II | 12 (10.4) | 2 (6.7) | |
| III | 41 (35.7) | 14 (46.7) | |
| IV | 56 (48.7) | 12 (40.0) | |
| Pleurodesis, n (%) | 41 (35.3) | 10 (33.3) | 0.837 |
| Prophylactic radiotherapy, n (%) | 22 (19.0) | 2 (6.7) | 0.083 |
| Second–line chemotherapy, n (%) | 36 (31.0) | 8 (26.7) | 0.642 |
| Median baseline hemoglobin, g / dL | 12.5 | 12.3 | 0.679 |
| Median baseline serum albumin, g / dL | 3.8 | 3.6 | 0.336 |