A case of elderly advanced squamous cell lung carcinoma successfully treated with nedaplatin and S-1 combination chemotherapy

A 74-year-old male was referred to our hospital for an abnormal chest shadow pointed out by a medical examination. A chest computed tomography revealed a tumor shadow 39 X 32 mm in size in his left upper lobe in January, 2010. Pathological examination of biopsy specimens showed squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Although there was no distant metastasis, multiple metastases to mediastinal lymph nodes was noted. He was diagnosed as Stage IIIA (cT2aN2M0). Considering his age and the histology of the disease, systemic chemotherapy with nedaplatin and S-1 was performed. The diameter of the primary lesion was decreased from 39 mm to 18 mm after 4 courses of chemotherapy, and was considered as partial response (PR) according to the RECIST criteria. The adverse events were grade 2 appetite loss, grade 3 neutropenia, and grade 2 thrombocytopenia. Recently, various new agents for treating non-squamous cell lung carcinoma have been developed, but there has been little progress in the treatment of squamous cell lung carcinoma. We experienced a patient with advanced squamous cell lung carcinoma who responded with CDGP/S-1 combination chemotherapy. We are now conducting a phase I / II clinical study to verify the usefulness of this regimen against advanced squamous cell lung carcinoma, S-1.