SURGICAL-TREATMENT OF STAGE-III LUNG-CANCER AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIOTHERAPY

We have experienced eight patients with advanced bronchogenic carcinom as who underwent resectional surgery after receiving preoperative adju vant chemotherapy and radiotherapy during the period March, 1990, to F ebruary, 1992. Four patients were in stage IIIA and four in stage IIIB , of which six had epidermoid carcinomas and two small cell carcinomas . All patients were male with ages ranging from 48 to 73 (mean 56.7) y ears. The induction chemotherapy for six patients consisted of cisplat in and VP-16 (Etoposide) only, and two patients were given fluorouraci l/cyclophosphamide and cyclophosphamide/adriamycin/cisplatin in additi on to cisplatin/VP-16, respectively. All patients also received four t o six weeks of radiotherapy following chemotherapy and were re-evaluat ed for the possibility of surgery after four weeks of observation. All patients underwent pneumonectomies. Postoperative histological stagin g revealed complete responses in two patients, partial responses in th ree and no response in three. Patients were followed-up for seven to 3 3 (mean 21.5) months after the diagnosis of lung cancer. Six patients died 1, 2, 3, 10, 14 and 26 months postoperatively and two patients ar e alive, revealing no evidence of tumor recurrence 24 months postopera tively. induction therapy may induce a better resectability by the con version of the lung cancer to a lower clinical stage by the time of su rgery.