Methods Results Study population was composed of 51 males and 11 females with median age of 54.35 ± 8.18. 21 patients were treated with single agent paclitaxel whereas 41 patients were treated with single agent docetaxel as second line chemotherapy. There was no significant difference of demographic characteristics of patients between groups. Performance status according to the ECOG scale showed 52 patients Abstract Background: A few chemotherapy agents are used for second line treatment of

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... nced stage lung cancer, and their benefits are limited. The aim of our study was to compare response rates, survival and toxicity of single agent docetaxel versus paclitaxel in the second line chemotherapy of advanced stage lung cancer. Methods: Sixty two advanced stage lung cancer patients treated with a single agent taxane as second line chemotherapy between January 1997 and January 2006 were retrospectively analyzed. Chi-squared and Kaplan Meier methods were used for statistical analyses using SPSS software program. Results: Study population was composed of 51 males and 11 females with median age of 54.35 (± 8.18) years. 21 patients were treated with single-agent paclitaxel whereas 41 patients were treated with single-agent docetaxel. Overall response rate was 14.3% in paclitaxel group and 12.2% in docetaxel group (p>0.05). Median survival time was 32 weeks in paclitaxel group and 24 weeks in docetaxel group (p>0.05). There was no difference regarding grade 3 or 4 toxicity between groups. Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference between docetaxel and paclitaxel groups in the second line chemotherapy of advanced stage non-small lung cancer regarding response or toxicity. (El Med J 2:4; 2014)