Gender difference in hematological toxicity among lung cancer patients receiving amrubicin monotherapy.

Background: Severe hematological toxicity has been frequently observed during amrubicin monotherapy for patients with lung cancer despite the favorable anti-tumor response. The purpose of this retrospective study was to identify pretreatment factors associated with severe hematological toxicity.
Methods: The medical records of lung cancer patients treated with amrubicin monotherapy were reviewed, and univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted.
Results: From January 2003 to December 2006, the medical records of 103 patients were extracted. Grade 4 neutropenia was frequently observed in females (male, 66% and female, 90%, P = 0.036 in a univariate analysis). In a multivariate analysis, female gender (P = 0.019), body weight loss (P = 0.021) and amrubicin dose (P = 0.028) were significantly correlated with Grade 4 neutropenia.
Conclusion: Gender could be considered as one of the important predictive factors associated with Grade 4 neutropenia in patients receiving amrubicin monotherapy.