title: The role of ifosfamide in germ cell tumors and small cell lung cancer.
abstract: Ifosfamide has been found to have antineoplastic activity in a variety of solid tumors. In germ cell tumors, the substitution of ifosfamide for bleomycin in the standard combination bleomycin/etoposide/cisplatin (BEP) did not improve efficacy and caused significantly more toxicity than BEP. This regimen (VIP), however, has shown promise when used with high-dose carboplatin/etoposide as salvage therapy in patients with germ cell tumors not responding to first-line BEP. It is unclear whether the addition of ifosfamide to the carboplatin/etoposide regimen results in an improved therapeutic outcome in patients with multiple recurrent germ cell tumors. In such patients, as well as in those with poor-risk germ cell cancer, high-dose chemotherapy given with hematopoietic growth factors and bone marrow rescue may have a role. In small cell lung cancer, single-agent ifosfamide has produced response rates of 48% to 76%. Currently, the role of ifosfamide is being defined in untreated and recurrent small cell lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis 46220, USA.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Nichols
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D018237:Germinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary; D006801:Humans; D007069:Ifosfamide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016879:Salvage Therapy
chemical_list: D007069:Ifosfamide