INHALED SODIUM CROMOGLYCATE TO TREAT COUGH IN ADVANCED LUNG-CANCER PATIENTS

C-fibres probably represent the common final pathway in both ACE inhib itors and neoplastic cough. A recent report demonstrated that inhaled sodium cromoglycate is an effective treatment for ACE inhibitors' coug h; this effect might be due to the suppression of afferent unmyelinate d C-fibres. We tested the hypothesis that inhaled sodium cromoglycate might also be effective in lung cancer patients who presented with irr itative neoplastic cough. Twenty non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) pa tients complaining of cough resistant to conventional treatment were r andomised to receive, in a double-blind trial, either inhaled sodium c romoglycate or placebo. Patients recorded cough severity daily, before and during treatment, on a 0 to 4 scale. The efficacy of treatment wa s tested with the Mann-Whitney U-test for non-parametric measures, com paring the intergroup differences in the measures of summary of sympto m scores calculated in each patient before and after treatment. We rep ort that inhaled sodium cromoglycate can reduce cough, also in NSCLC p atients and that such reduction, observed in all patients treated, is statistically significant (P<0.001). Inhaled sodium cromoglycate appea rs to be a cost-effective and safe treatment for lung cancer-related c ough.