Abstract

Fifty patients with the advanced non-small cell lung cancer, who had no previous treatment, were treated with a combination chemotherapy regimen consisting of cisplatin (20mg/m i.v. day 1-5), etoposide (100 mg/m i.v. day 2-4), and vinblastine (6 mg/m(2) i.v, day 1) every 3 weeks. Among the 50 patients entered into this study 45 patients were evaluable for response. Objective responses were achieved in 49 % (22/45) of patients (2 CRs, 20 PRs). In 23 patients with limited disease, the response rate was 61% (14/23) with no complete response, higher than that, but not statistically significant, in the extensive disease patients (36% with 2 CRs). The overall median survival of the patients was 42.6 weeks and the responding patients survived longer than non-responders (median survival; 51.5 weeks vs. 37.4 weeks, p<0.05). Toxicity with this regimen was acceptable; myelosup- pression was the major toxic effect and was severe in only 11% of the patients with one treatment- related death from sepsis associated with granulocytopenia. The gastrointestinal side effects and alopecia were rather universal and the peripheral neuropathy (20%) and azotemia (9%) were not uncommon, but manageable in general.