PATIENTS WITH LIMITED-STAGE SMALL-CELL LUNG-CANCER TREATED WITH CONCURRENT TWICE-DAILY CHEST RADIOTHERAPY AND ETOPOSIDE CISPLATIN FOLLOWED BY CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE, DOXORUBICIN, AND VINCRISTINE
Be. Johnson et al., PATIENTS WITH LIMITED-STAGE SMALL-CELL LUNG-CANCER TREATED WITH CONCURRENT TWICE-DAILY CHEST RADIOTHERAPY AND ETOPOSIDE CISPLATIN FOLLOWED BY CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE, DOXORUBICIN, AND VINCRISTINE, Journal of clinical oncology, 14(3), 1996, pp. 806-813
Purpose: A phase II trial in patients with limited-stage small-cell lu
ng cancer treated with induction etoposide/cisplatin plus twice-daily
chest radiotherapy was conducted in an attempt to increase response ra
tes and prolong survival. Patients and Methods: Fifty-four previously
untreated patients with limited-stage small-cell cancer were treated w
ith etoposide/cisplatin and concurrent radiotherapy at 1.5 Gy twice da
ily for 3 weeks to a total dose of 45 Gy. Patients then received three
more cycles of etoposide/cisplatin followed by four cycles of vincris
tine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide or an individualized chemother
apy regimen. Results: Nine patients are alive and free of cancer a med
ian of 4 years (range, 2 to 7) from the start of treatment. Thirty-eig
ht have held progression of their cancer at a median of 1.2 years (ran
ge, 0.5 to 5.4) and all have died of small-cell cancer. Thirteen of th
ese 38 patients' (34%) only site of initial relapse was in the CNS and
all died of CNS metastases. Five patients died during therapy or from
its complications and two patients died of causes other than relapsed
small-cell lung cancer and toxicity. The median survival rime is 21.3
months, with an actual survival rate of 83% at 1 year, and actuarial
survival rates of 43% at 2 years and 19% at 5 years. Conclusion: This
combined modality regimen for patients with limited-stage small-cell l
ung cancer results in a a-year survival rate of 43%, but the principal
cause of death in these patients is still relapse of the original can
cer. Isolated CNS metastases caused more than 30% of the cancer deaths
.