Table 1. Patient Characteristics.
| Characteristics | Patients, No. (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Paclitaxel plus fluorouracil (n = 107) | Paclitaxel plus cisplatin (n = 107) | Paclitaxel plus carboplatin (n = 107) | |
| Age, y | |||
| ≤65 | 66 (61.7) | 58 (54.2) | 63 (58.9) |
| >65 | 41 (38.3) | 49 (45.8) | 44 (41.1) |
| Sex | |||
| Men | 80 (74.8) | 82 (76.6) | 86 (80.4) |
| Women | 27 (25.2) | 25 (23.4) | 21 (19.6) |
| ECOG performance status | |||
| 0 | 54 (50.5) | 50 (46.7) | 47 (43.7) |
| 1 | 53 (49.5) | 57 (53.3) | 60 (56.1) |
| Stage at diagnosisa | |||
| IIa | 13 (12.1) | 16 (15.0) | 12 (11.2) |
| IIb | 15 (14.0) | 10 (9.3) | 12 (11.2) |
| III | 47 (43.9) | 55 (51.4) | 66 (61.7) |
| IVa | 22 (20.6) | 17 (15.9) | 13 (12.1) |
| IVbb | 10 (9.3) | 9 (8.4) | 4 (3.7) |
| Reason for no surgery | |||
| Local extent of disease | 77 (72.0) | 69 (64.5) | 68 (63.6) |
| Surgical contraindication | 20 (18.7) | 21 (19.6) | 25 (23.4) |
| Patient refusal | 10 (9.3) | 17 (15.9) | 14 (13.1) |
| Tumor length, cm | |||
| ≤5 | 66 (61.7) | 70 (65.4) | 68 (63.6) |
| >5 | 41 (38.3) | 37 (34.6) | 39 (36.4) |
| Tumor location | |||
| Cervical | 12 (11.2) | 16 (15.0) | 17 (15.9) |
| Upper thoracic | 58 (54.2) | 39 (36.4) | 49 (45.8) |
| Middle thoracic | 28 (26.2) | 39 (36.4) | 36 (33.6) |
| Lower thoracic | 6 (5.6) | 11 (10.3) | 3 (2.8) |
| Multiple | 3 (2.8) | 2 (1.9) | 2 (1.9) |
Abbreviation: ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.
a
Based on the American Joint Committee on Cancer’s Cancer Staging Manual, 6th edition staging.
b
A total of 23 patients (10 patients [9.3%] in the paclitaxel plus fluorouracil group, 9 patients [8.4%] in the paclitaxel plus cisplatin group, and 4 patients [3.7%] in the paclitaxel plus carboplatin group) were upstaged from IVa to IVb after staging review.