Extended administration of oral etoposide and oral cyclophosphamide for the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a Southwest Oncology Group study.
OBJECTIVE
We designed an all-oral regimen of etoposide and cyclophosphamide for use in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.


METHODS
Eligible patients were chemotherapy-naive and had histologically confirmed assessable or measurable stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer. Patients received etoposide 50 mg/m2/d orally days 1 through 14 and cyclophosphamide 50 mg/m2/d orally days 1 through 14 every 28 days. Doses on later cycles were adjusted for myelosuppression.


RESULTS
Sixty-six patients (64 eligible patients) received 192 cycles of oral extended etoposide/cyclophosphamide therapy (median, two cycles; range, zero to 15). Therapy was well tolerated with the mean dose per cycle being 104% of the originally scheduled dose. Two patients (3%) achieved a complete response and six (9%) achieved a partial response. Leukopenia, anemia, nausea/vomiting, and alopecia were the most common toxicities. Median survival was 6 months, and the 1-year survival rate was 25.6%, comparable to more intensive treatments.


CONCLUSIONS
Oral extended etoposide/cyclophosphamide is a well-tolerated alternative for the treatment of stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer and can be used as a basis for the design of further outpatient regimens.
University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
S M
SM
Grunberg
J
J
Crowley
R
R
Livingston
I
I
Gill
S K
SK
Williamson
T
T
O'Rourke
T
T
Braun
M E
ME
Marshall
J K
JK
Weick
S P
SP
Balcerzak
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D005047:Etoposide; D003520:Cyclophosphamide