Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 28, Issue 12 745-748, Copyright © 1998 by Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research
H Asamoto, M Kawahara, F Iwami, M Kuba, K Furuse, T Tamura, N Saijo and M Shimoyama
BACKGROUND: Etoposide is a highly schedule-dependent drug. We investigated
combination chemotherapy of oral etoposide and intravenous cisplatin for
small cell lung cancer (SCLC). METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with SCLC with
extensive disease (ED) or limited disease (LD) with pleural effusion
registered in the 21 institutions of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group were
treated with oral etoposide 40 mg/m2/d for 21 days and cisplatin 80 mg/m2
on day 1 of every 28-period day. The entry period was between February 1992
and August 1995. The actual percentages of patients treated with etoposide
were 93.6, 89.5, 92.3 and 96.9% in the first, second, third and fourth
cycles, respectively. RESULTS: Nine patients (15.8%) achieved a complete
response resulting in an overall response rate of 82.5% (95% confidence
interval, 70.1-91.3%). Leukopenia and thrombocytopenia of grade 3 or 4 were
observed in 36 (49.1%) and 8 (14.0%) patients, respectively. Anemia of
grade 3 or 4 occurred in 28 (49.1%) patients. Nausea, vomiting, anorexia
and alopecia were common adverse events. One patient died of hemoptysis due
to grade 4 thrombocytopenia. The mean survival time was 47.0 weeks.
CONCLUSIONS: This dose and schedule of administration of etoposide in
combination with cisplatin are considered to be clinically active. However,
prolonged gastrointestinal toxicity of oral etoposide was a problem in
comparison with the standard etoposide platinum regimen given by
intravenous administration.
CASE REPORTS
Cisplatin plus oral etoposide in the treatment of patients with advanced small cell lung cancer. Japan Clinical Oncology Group
Department of Respiratory Diseases, Kyoto National Hospital, Japan.
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