Paclitaxel, carboplatin and gemcitabine combination as induction chemotherapy for stage IIIA N2 bulky non-small cell lung cancer

<i>Background:</i> Induction chemotherapy followed by surgical resection or definitive radiotherapy for patients affected by stage IIIA N2 bulky non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been investigated in several trials. <i>Patients and Methods:</i> In this present study, 52 patients with stage IIIA N2 bulky NSCLC with cytologically or histologically confirmed mediastinal lymph node involvement received paclitaxel 175 mg/mq on day 1, carboplatin AUC 5 on day 1 and gemcitabine 1,000 mg/mq on day 1 and 8 every 3 weeks for three cycles as induction chemotherapy. <i>Results:</i> Objective response (4 complete remission and 36 partial remission) was achieved i…