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Background: Multiple trials have been performed to evaluate second-line clinical chemotherapy in patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). However, no single agent or combination has demonstrated superior activity., Methods: Patients with advanced NSCLC who had already received one chemotherapeutic regimen were treated with topotecan (0.75 mg/m(2) over 30 minutes, Days 1-5) and gemcitabine (400 mg/m(2) over 30 minutes, Days 1 and 5) every 21 days., Results: Of 35 patients who were treated, 4 (11%) achieved a partial responses and 8 (23%) hadstable disease for at least four courses of treatment. The response rate for patients with refractory disease (progressing during frontline chemotherapy) was 18% (3 of 17) with 18% having stable disease for at least four courses of treatment. The median survival of the entire group was 7 months (range, 1.5-44 months) and 20% (7 of 35) of patients were alive 1 year from the initiation of topotecan and gemcitabine treatment. Patients with refractory disease had a median survival of 4(1/2) months, with 6-month and 1-year survival rates of 47% and 18%, respectively. During Course 1, five patients (14%) developed Grade IV neutropenia and three patients (9%) developed Grade IV thrombocytopenia. Nonhematologic toxicity was relatively mild, with one patient developing Grade III side effects (fatigue) and eight patients (23%) developing Grade II nonhematologic side effects., Conclusions: The combination of topotecan and gemcitabine demonstrated antitumor activity with a modest side effect profile in patients with advanced, previously treated NSCLC., (Copyright 2002 American Cancer Society.)

Seventy-five evaluable patients with metastatic breast cancer refractory to frontline chemotherapy were treated with vinblastine 1.5 mg/m2 by continuous intravenous infusion for five days, intravenous infusion of methotrexate 200 mg/m2, and appropriate calcium leukovorin rescue. Thirty-eight patients were treated with vinblastine followed by methotrexate and calcium leukovorin, while 37 patients were treated with these same drugs in reverse sequence. In 17 patients (23%) an objective remission was achieved, while 39 remained stable for a period in excess of eight weeks. The median duration of remission was two months, and the median duration of survival was six months. The two regimens were well balanced for commonly used pretreatment prognostic factors. There was no difference in response rate and duration of response between the two treatment regimens. In patients with no prior exposure to methotrexate, the remission rate was 37% (11 of 30) compared with 13% (6 of 45). The treatment was well tolerated, and the dose-limiting toxicity was myelosuppression. This combination of drugs is effective in patients who have not been exposed to either drug, while it is only marginally effective in patients previously treated with methotrexate or vinblastine.

Between May 1977 and April 1980, 238 patients with operable breast cancer were treated with adjuvant fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (FAC) chemotherapy. All patients were randomized to receive FAC alone or FAC with nonspecific immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine. A randomization for routine postoperative irradiation was included in the study in May 1978. At the median follow-up of 33 months, 53 patients had developed recurrent disease. Up to the present time, there have been no significant differences in the disease-free survival of patients treated with FAC alone from those treated with FAC + BCG (P = 0.21). The disease-free survival for patients treated with and without routine postoperative irradiation was similar (P = 0.99). Disease-free survival of premenopausal and postmenopausal women was similar. The overall estimate of disease-free survival was 72% at 3 years.

Peptichemio is a polypeptide complex of L-phenylalanine mustard. Because of structural similarities between melphalan (L-PAM) and Peptichemio a prospective randomized study was done to compare the therapeutic efficacy of these two agents. After failing various combinations of doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, fluorouracil, methotrexate, and vincristine patients with advanced breast cancer were randomized to receive either Peptichemio or L-PAM. Peptichemio was administered at 75-100 mg/m2 and L-PAM at 30-40 mg/m2 IV q 3-4 week interval. Of 56 evaluable patients, 28 received peptichemio and 28 received L-PAM. There were no objective responses in the L-PAM group, and disease stabilized in four patients (14%). The median duration of stable disease was three months (range, 3-4 months). In the peptichemio group seven patients (25%) achieved a partial remission, one patient (3%) achieved less than partial remission and three patients (11%) had stable disease. The median duration of response was six months (range, 5-7+ months) for responding patients and three months (range, 2-5 months) for stable disease. The major toxicity of both drugs was myelosuppression which was cumulative. In conclusion, peptichemio is an active agent in advanced breast cancer, but L-PAM is ineffective in previously treated patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Sixty-two patients with breast cancer treated with Adriamycin-containing adjuvant chemotherapy developed recurrent disease. Four patients refused to take any form of systemic therapy at the time of relapse. Fifty-eight patients were managed with various treatment modalities, and of these 33 (57%) achieved on objective remission, 11 (19%) had stable disease and 14 patients (24%) did not respond to any form of therapy. Twenty-four patients received more than one treatment modality. Thirty-eight patients were treated with chemotherapy and 35 received endocrine therapy. Eight of 20 patients (40%) achieved objective remission upon retreatment with higher dose of 5-fluorouracil, Adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide at time of relapse, and seven of 18 patients (38%) treated with other chemotherapeutic agents showed objective remission. Fourteen of 35 patients (40%) achieved objective remission with hormonal therapies. The median survival from first relapse was 15 months for all patients, and was 25.7 months for responding patients. Survival was significantly longer in asymptomatic patients compared with those who were symptomatic from recurrent disease.