CAN THE CLINICAL COURSE OF CANCER BE INFLUENCED BY NON-ANTINEOPLASTICDRUGS

Laboratory and anecdotal clinical evidence suggests that some common n on-antineoplastic drugs may affect the course of cancer. The authors p resent two cases that appear to be consistent with such a possibility: that of a 63-year-old woman in whom a high-grade angiosarcoma of the forehead improved after discontinuation of lithium therapy and then pr ogressed rapidly when treatment with carbamazepine was started, and th at of a 74-year-old woman with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the colon that regressed when self-treatment with a nonprescription decongestant preparation containing antihistamine was discontinued. The authors su ggest that epidemiologic studies are needed to investigate a possible association between non-antineoplastic drugs and the clinical course o f cancer and that consideration should be given to discontinuing all n onessential medications for patients with cancer.