TALLIMUSTINE IS INACTIVE IN PATIENTS WITH PREVIOUSLY TREATED SMALL-CELL LUNG-CANCER - A PHASE-II TRIAL OF THE NATIONAL-CANCER-INSTITUTE OF CANADA CLINICAL-TRIALS GROUP
J. Viallet et al., TALLIMUSTINE IS INACTIVE IN PATIENTS WITH PREVIOUSLY TREATED SMALL-CELL LUNG-CANCER - A PHASE-II TRIAL OF THE NATIONAL-CANCER-INSTITUTE OF CANADA CLINICAL-TRIALS GROUP, Lung cancer, 15(3), 1996, pp. 367-373
Tallimustine binds to the minor groove of DNA where it alkylates the N
3 position of adenine and may interfere with gene transcription. We co
nducted a phase II trial of Tallimustine given at a dose of 750 mu g/m
(2) intravenously every 4 weeks in patients with small cell lung cance
r progressing or relapsing following cisplatin or carboplatin-based ch
emotherapy. We treated 14 eligible patients with a performance status
0, 1 or 2, bi-dimensionally measurable disease and adequate end-organ
function. The main toxicity was neutropenia with a median granulocyte
count of 0.1 x 10(9) per liter (range 0-3.9) and four patients (27%) d
eveloping febrile neutropenia. In addition, most patients (93%) experi
enced lethargy. No objective responses were seen. A mixed response was
seen in one patient and three others had stable disease for a median
of 3.7 months. We conclude that Tallimustine is an ineffective agent i
n previously treated small cell lung cancer.