Comparison of alternating to nonalternating chemotherapy regimens for non-small cell lung cancer

Forty-seven patients with stage III lung cancer from four institutions in the Denver area were entered in a study comparing two regimens of chemotherapy. The patients were randomized into two groups: Group A received lomustine, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, cisplatin, and doxorubicin monthly; Group B received the five-drug regimen on Months 1, 3, and 5 and received 5-FU by constant infusion, methotrexate, and mitomycin on Months 2, 4, and 6. The age, extent of disease, Karnofsky score, prior therapy, and average number of chemotherapy courses received in each group were comparable. The median survival in Group A was 265 days and in Group B was 163 days (P greater than 0.25). There does not seem to be an advantage in survival in patients who are treated with the eight-drug regimen over the five-drug regimen.