Kh. Yeh et Al. Cheng, HIGH-DOSE TAMOXIFEN REVERSES DRUG-RESISTANCE TO CISPLATIN AND ETOPOSIDE IN A PATIENT WITH ADVANCED LARGE-CELL CARCINOMA OF LUNG, Anticancer research, 17(2B), 1997, pp. 1341-1343
A 64-year-old man was diagnosed as having large cell carcinoma of lung
and suffered from recurrent tumors after repeated surgical resection
and local irradiation. Systemic chemotherapy with chronic oral etoposi
de, and then 5 courses of intravenous cisplatin and etoposide (PE) res
ulted in disease progression with multiple new lung nodules and a seve
re superior vena cava syndrome. Empirical treatment with a PET regimen
, which incorporated high-dose tamoxifen (TAM) 150 mg/m(2)/day into or
iginal PE regimen, was tried. Nearly total tumor necrosis was achieved
after 5 courses of PET with remission duration of 4.5 months. The exc
ellent response by simple addition of TAM into a previously inactive P
E regimen advocates further investigation.