A weekly cisplatin‐based induction regimen for extensive non‐small cell lung cancer. A southwest oncology group study

The purpose of this Phase II pilot study was to determine whether a dose‐intensive regimen of weekly cisplatin combined with other active non–cross‐resistant agents would improve the response rate and survival time of patients with extensive non‐small cell lung cancer. Patients received cisplatin (50 mg/m²/wk) on days 1, 8, 15, 22, 36, 43, 50, and 57 combined with mitomycin C (8 mg/m²) on days 1 and 36, vinblastine (3 mg/m²) on days 8 and 43, and 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) (1 g/m²) by continuous infusion over 24 hours on days 15 and 50. Responding patients received consolidation therapy with cisplatin and etoposide (VP‐16). Of 82 registered patients, 80 were eligible and 77 were evaluable for response. The overall response rate was 23% with 1 patient achieving a complete response (CR) and 17 patients achieving a partial response (PR). The median survival time was 4.6 months. The toxicity profile was not different from that described for standard‐dose regimens. Although this regimen does not offer any benefit over standard‐dose cisplatin regimens for patients with extensive non‐small lung cancer, the weekly schedule permits a dose‐intensive regimen with acceptable toxicity for tumors that may benefit from this approach.