Search

Forty-five patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with progressive inoperable tumors were treated. Twenty-three patients were of "limited" stage. Six patients had received previous thoracic radiotherapy. Patients with central nervous system (CNS) metastases, Karnofsky scores of less than 30 or more than 70, and patients over 70 years of age were excluded from the study. Cyclophosphamide (2.5 g/m2) was infused intravenously over 3 hours with the same Mesna dose. At the midpoint of the infusion, 3.5 g/m2 infosfamide was delivered as a bolus. Additional Mesna was administered over the next 8 hours. A maximum of four courses were given at three weekly intervals. One-hundred-thirty-eight courses were administered and 53% of patients completed all four treatments. The response rate was 38%, with three (7%) complete responses. Seven additional patients (15%) with stable disease symptomatically improved by two steps or more on the Karnofsky scale at the end of treatment. Median survival for all 45 patients was 7 months, range less than 1 to 25 months. Sixteen courses were complicated by Grade 3 thrombocytopaenia and/or leukopenia (Grade 4 on six occasions, Grade 3 on seven occasions) on the blood count taken immediately before chemotherapy. Intravenous antibiotics were required on 14% of the total number of courses; and three patients died of probable treatment related causes. Two episodes of severe ifosfamide encephalopathy occurred but recovery was complete, and four episodes of frank hematuria also occurred. The Karnofsky score was more than 70 in 33% of patients one month after the end of chemotherapy compared with 0% before treatment. Unlike many chemotherapeutic regimens for NSCLC, double alkylating agent treatment with ifosfamide and cyclophosphamide improved the performance status without major toxicity in a selected patient population. The overall survival, however, remains short and further alkylating agent combinations need to be considered in the future.