PHASE-II TRIAL OF VP-16-213 IN NON-SMALL-CELL LUNG-CANCER

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 5  (1) , 45-47
Abstract
Patients (51) with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were treated with VP-16-213 during a phase II trial. Of the 49 patients who had adequate trials, 2 patients achieved a partial response (PR), for an overall 4% major response rate. The median Karnofsky performance status (PS) was 80%; 85.7% of patients had adenocarcinoma and 14.2% had epidermoid carcinoma. Prior treatment with chemotherapy may have adversely affected response rate; the 2 responses occurred among the 25 previously untreated patients, while no responses were seen in patients who had previously received chemotherapy. Myelosuppression was the most frequent side effect and 2 drug-related deaths due to septicemia occurred. Other toxic effects noted included anorexia, nausea and vomiting, partial alopecia, and, in one patient, chills and hypotension during drug infusion. VP-16-213 has minimal activity as a single agent in NSCLC.