Efficacy and Safety of Docetaxel plus Ramucirumab for Patients with Pretreated Advanced or Recurrent Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: Focus on Older Patients

Combination therapy with docetaxel (DTX) and ramucirumab (RAM) has been used as a second-line treatment for advanced or recurrent lung cancer. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the safety of angiogenesis inhibitors in older patients. This multicenter retrospective study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of second-line treatment regimens in older patients with advanced or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We retrospectively analyzed 145 patients aged ≥ 70 years with advanced or recurrent NSCLC treated with second-line chemotherapy after platinum-based therapy between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2021. Patients were subdivided into the DTX + RAM (n = 38) and single-agent (n = 107) groups. The median time to treatment failure was 6.3 months (95