Paclitaxel by 1-hour infusion in combination chemotherapy of stage III non-small cell lung cancer

We report our preliminary phase II experience with paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) given as a I-hour infusion with cisplatin, etoposide, and concurrent radiotherapy to patients with unresectable stage IIIA or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer. Twenty-three patients have been started on therapy, with 15 thus far completing treatment. Eight of 15 patients have achieved complete or "near complete" responses, and five more patients have had partial responses. No patients experienced disease progression. The combined-modality regimen was well tolerated, with the exception of grade 3 or 4 esophagitis, which usually occurred during the last 2 weeks of radiation therapy (eight patients). It is hoped the results of these and other studies will help clarify the role of paclitaxel in multimodality therapy for lung cancer.