NEW CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC-AGENTS FOR NONSMALL CELL LUNG-CANCER

The identification of new chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer should proceed in a structured, logical fa shion, Agents should be evaluated on the basis of multiple objective a nd subjective end points. A 15% or greater major objective response ra te, demonstrated in multiple single-agent phase II trials, is consider ed the lower limit for an agent to be deemed clinically active in this disease. A number of drugs previously have been identified in this ca tegory, including cisplatin, ifosfamide, mitomycin, paclitaxel, and th e vinca alkaloids vinblastine and vindesine. Most of these conventiona l agents have been explored alone, in a variety of doses and schedules , and in combination. In the last several years clinical development h as produced new agents, including chloroquinoxaline sulfonamide, docet axel, edatrexate, gemcitabine, irinotecan, topotecan, and vinorelbine, which hold promise for more successful treatment of this lethal disea se.