Low-dose cisplatin and etoposide in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma

Twenty-seven consecutive patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma were treated with low-dose cisplatin and etoposide. Out of 25 evaluable patients, 8% had a partial response, 56% had stable disease and 36% had disease progression. The overall median survival was 4 months. The survival of the two responding patients was 5 and 6.5 months. The patients showing stable disease or progression had a median survival of 6 and 3 months, respectively. Toxicity including myelosuppression, nephrotoxicity and gastrointestinal side effects was generally mild. In this trial the combination of low-dose cisplatin and etoposide did not yield the same positive results observed by other authors. The different selection of patients and criteria of response evaluation could represent the main reason for this disagreement in results.