title: Southwest Oncology Group phase II trial of concurrent carboplatin, etoposide, and radiation for poor-risk stage III non-small-cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A phase II study was conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) to assess the efficacy and toxicity of concurrent carboplatin, etoposide, and thoracic radiation (XRT) in a defined population of poor-risk patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with stage III NSCLC were eligible if they were excluded from cisplatin-based protocols because of poor pulmonary or renal function, history of congestive heart failure, hearing loss, peripheral neuropathy, or weight loss. Carboplatin 200 mg/m2 daily intravenously days 1, 3, 29, and 31 and etoposide 50 mg/m2 daily intravenously days 1 through 4 and 29 through 32 were administered. Beginning day 1, XRT was delivered at 1.8 to 2.0 Gy daily to a total dose of 61 Gy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within a period of 1 year, 63 patients were registered and 60 were eligible. Patient characteristics were age 47 to 79 years, performance status 0 to 1 (82%) and 2 (18%), and stages IIIA (60%) and IIIB (40%) NSCLC. The most common grades 3 and 4 toxicities included leukopenia (50%), thrombocytopenia (23%), and esophagitis (15%). There were no treatment-related deaths. The overall confirmed response rate was 29%, and median overall survival was 13 months (95% confidence interval, 11 to 14 months). The 2-year survival rate was 21%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This chemoradiotherapy regimen is well tolerated in poor-risk patients and yields a median survival similar to that of good-risk patients who received cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy. This chemoradiotherapy regimen will be compared with XRT alone in poor-risk patients with stage III NSCLC in a randomized phase III trial.
authors.affiliation: University of California Davis Cancer Center, Sacramento, USA.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Gandara
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Hazuka
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Albain
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leigh
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lanier
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Keiser
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Livingston
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016190:Carboplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D005047:Etoposide; D016190:Carboplatin