[EPICO in the treatment of small cell bronchial cancer. 3. Intermediate analysis]

61 patients with untreated small cell lung cancer were treated with a combination of epirubicin 70 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 1,000 mg/m2 and oncovin 2 mg every 3 weeks. The mean age of patients was 57 years. 51 patients were evaluable. 30 patients were classified to the stage limited disease, 21 patients to extensive disease. 9 complete and 23 partial remissions were achieved (remission rate 64%). The overall survival was 14 months, the mean survival of responders 16 months. 32 patients were alive at the end of the study. Performance status and extent of disease influenced significantly the result of treatment. The cytostatic activity of EPICO is comparable to three other drug combinations. The benefit of EPICO might be the lower cumulative toxicity of epirubicin and therefore enabling a longer duration of treatment.