Phase II evaluation of metoprine in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma

A phase II study of metoprine in low dose and in high dose with citrovorum rescue was conducted in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma. There were no responses observed in the 36 patients studied, yielding a predicted true response rate of less than 9%. Thrombocytopenia was the dose-limiting toxicity of the low-dose regimen; there was also one episode of leukopenia and sepsis in this group. Although citrovorum rescue obviated hematologic toxicity in the high-dose regimen, mild to moderate neurological toxicity occurred at this dose. Metoprine does not appear to be a useful agent in non-small-cell lung carcinoma when used in the dose schedule employed in this study.