PHASE-II STUDY OF INTRAVENOUS ADENOSINE 5'-TRIPHOSPHATE IN PATIENTS WITH PREVIOUSLY UNTREATED STAGE IIIB AND STAGE-IV NONSMALL CELL LUNG-CANCER

Fifteen patients with Stage IIIB or IV non-small cell lung cancer gave informed consent to receive three or more 96-hour infusions of ATP at a dose of 50 mcg/kg/min or higher to determine whether ATP has antine oplastic activity against this tumor type and to better define the spe ctrum of toxicity for ATP given as a single agent. There were no objec tive complete or partial responses observed. The median survival of th e overall group was 187 days and the median time to tumor progression was 113 days. The major toxic side effects were chest pain and dyspnea , leading to the cessation of treatment in 5 patients. We conclude tha t ATP at this dose and schedule of administration is an inactive agent in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.