title: Cisplatin as a radiosensitizer in clinical practice: a pilot study.
abstract: Fifty-four patients with inoperable cancers were treated with a combination of cisplatin and radiotherapy from May 1984 to February 1989. Cisplatin was administered at a dose of 40 mg/week, for a total dose of 160-320 mg, during radiation therapy. In 4 cases with brain metastases, the cisplatin dose was 40 mg/m2. Cisplatin concentration in blood was measured using the flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. Radiation therapy was delivered by a 6 MV X-ray or a cobalt-60 unit up to a total dose of 50-70 Gy. Among the 54 patients, 89% (48) responded to the treatment regimen; complete responses (CR) and partial responses (PR) were 56% and 33%, respectively. Six patients were stable in their disease. Among the 30 patients who had CR's, the 1-year survival rate was 88% (21/24). Two patients (7%) had local relapse. However, among PRs, the 1-year survival rate was 33% (4/12) and local failure (61%) (11/18). Objective tumor response was observed in 4 cases with brain metastasis, 2 of the 4 patients were alive for more than 6 months. Toxic effects were moderate and consisted of emesis and myelosuppression. Grade III bone marrow suppression amounted to 11%, and the interval of recovery was relatively long compared with that reported in the literature. Further prospective controlled studies are recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, North Tai Ping Road Hospital Cancer Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: X C
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Z F
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents
chemical_list: D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents; D002945:Cisplatin