Irinotecan and etoposide for previously untreated extensive-disease small cell lung cancer: a phase II trial of West Japan Thoracic Oncology Group.
Irinotecan is a topoisomerase I inhibitor that is highly active against small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Etoposide is another drug that is effective for SCLC. Since combination of these two topoisomerase inhibitors revealed a synergistic effect in vitro and showed a safety in phase I study, we conducted a phase II study in patients with previously un-treated extensive disease (ED) SCLC to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of this combination. Fifty patients with previously untreated ED-SCLC were enrolled. Irinotecan was administered intravenously at 60mg/m(2) on days 1, 8, and 15, while etoposide was given at 80mg/m(2) on days 2-4. Treatment was repeated every 4 weeks for four cycles. The overall response rate was 66.0%, with a complete response rate of 10.0%. The median survival time was 11.5 months and the 1- and 2-year survival rates were 43.2 and 14.4%, respectively. The major toxicity of this regimen was myelosuppression, including grade 3 or 4 neutropenia (62.9%), leukopenia (28.0%), and anemia (14%). The other grade 3 toxicity was diarrhea (2%). This irinotecan and etoposide regimen is active against ED-SCLC with relatively mild toxicity.
Kudoh
S
S
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan.
Nakamura
S
S
Nakano
T
T
Komuta
K
K
Isobe
T
T
Katakami
N
N
Fukuda
Y
Y
Takada
Y
Y
Takada
M
M
Fukuoka
M
M
Ariyoshi
Y
Y
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002166:Camptothecin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D000077146:Irinotecan; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D020714:Maximum Tolerated Dose; D008875:Middle Aged; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D005047:Etoposide; D000077146:Irinotecan; D002166:Camptothecin