[Randomized study of cisplatin and doxorubicin with or without vincristine in non-small cell lung cancer]

A randomized study of anticancer chemotherapy, CDDP plus ADM with/without VCR on patients with NSCLC was carried out. Forty-six patients received injections of CDDP (75 mg/m2) and ADM (50 mg/m2) every 4 weeks (Regimen A); 39 patients were injected with the same doses of CDDP and ADM, plus VCR (1.4 mg/m2, on day 1 and 0.7 mg/m2, on day 7), every 4 weeks (Regimen B). Seven patients (15%) and 10 patients (26%) achieved a partial response by Regimens A and B, respectively. The median survival time (MST) was 8.5 months in each group. Survival time of the responders (MST; 27 months) was much more prolonged than that of the non-responders (MST; 7 months) (p less than 0.01). Both regimens were well tolerated with only moderate gastrointestinal symptoms and mild bone marrow toxicities. Although the addition of VCR to CDDP plus ADR in NSCLC fulfilled the objective tumor regression, no additive effect could be obtained with regard to survival.