Concurrent chemotherapy and thoracic radiation therapy for limited-stage small cell lung cancer

We conducted a phase II study of therapy for limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LD-SCLC). The chemotherapy regimen consisted of a three-week cycle of cisplatin (80 mg/m(2), given intravenously on day 1) and etoposide (100 mg/m(2), given intravenously on days 1, 3 and 5), given three to four times. Fifty Cy thoracic irradiation was administered in standard fractions simultaneously without a treatment break. A total of 19 patients with SCLC were entered into the study, and 18 were eligible. This concurrent treatment produced 39% complete-response and 89% overall-response rates in the eligible patients. The median response duration was 36 weeks, and the median survival time was 67 weeks. A local relapse within the irradiation field was observed in 28% of the eligible patients. Brain metastasis as the first relapse was seen in 33% of the eligible patients. Myelosuppression represented by grade 3 and 4 leukopenia was experienced in 79% of the entered patients. We conclude that the concurrent modality with cisplatin and etoposide (PE) chemotherapy and early thoracic radiation therapy without split is a feasible and beneficial therapy.