Vindesine and high-dose cisplatin in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Abstract

Seventeen patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were entered on a combination chemotherapy protocol including vindesine and high-dose cisplatin. All patients had measurable disease and had not previously received chemotherapy. All patients entered were evaluable for toxicity and response. Tumor regression was limited to one complete and one partial response (response rate, 11.7%; 95% confidence limits, 0 to 27%). The complete and partial response lasted 260 + and 82 days, respectively. For the 15 nonresponding patients, the median time to disease progression was 76 days. Median survival was 141 days for the whole group. Significant toxic effects were vindesine-related peripheral neuropathy and cisplatin-in-duced emesis. Myelosuppression was mild and manageable. The response for the vindesine-cisplatin combination observed in our study is inferior to that seen in a previous vindesine-cisplatin trial reported by others. Thus, the true value of this two-drug regimen in the treatment of NSCLC remains to be established.