Phase II study of procarbazine in small cell carcinoma of the lung

Thirty-nine patients with small cell anaplastic carcinoma of the lung were given oral doses of procarbazine ranging from 100 to 200 mg/m2 on Days 1-14 every 4 weeks. All patients had previously received combination chemotherapy. No responses were observed in the 24 evaluable patients. In reviewing the literature, we were unable to find evidence that the inclusion of procarbazine in combination chemotherapy is beneficial in small cell anaplastic carcinoma. Accordingly, it is concluded that procarbazine should not be considered as a useful drug in the management of this cell type of lung cancer.