[An early phase II study of gemcitabine hydrochloride (LY 188011). Gemcitabine Cooperative Study Group for Early...

An early phase II cooperative study of Gemcitabine Hydrochloride (abbreviated to "gemcitabine" herewith) was conducted in patients with a variety of solid tumors (i.e., lung cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, colon/rectum cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer and breast cancer) at 56 institutions. The aim of the first step (Step I) was to investigate the feasibility of gemcitabine in a variety of different solid tumors, including lung cancer regarding efficacy and safety. The aim of the second step (Step II) was as a result of step I (Responses were observed) to continue to investigate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine in chemonaive patients with non-small cell lung cancer. As a Step I study, gemcitabine was administered once weekly at a dose of 800 mg/m2 for a consecutive 3-week period followed by a week of rest, in multiple courses. Among the 29 eligible patients with lung cancer, partial response (PR) was achieved in 3 patients (25.0%, 95% confidence interval: 5.5-57.2%) out of 12 chemonaive patients. Adverse reactions (grade 3 or higher) seen in 29 patients with lung cancer were neutropenia (27.6%), leukopenia (13.8%), decreased hemoglobin (13.8%), thrombocytopenia (10.3%), malaise (6.9%), anorexia (3.4%), nausea/vomiting (3.4%), diarrhea (3.4%), dyspnea (3.4%) and interstitial pneumonia (3.4%). In other types of solid tumors, PR was achieved in 2 (8.7%) out of 23 eligible patients with cervical cancer and in 1 (5.3%) of 19 eligible patients with ovarian cancer, while the use of analgesics became unnecessary in 1 patient with pancreatic cancer. Incidence as well as severity of main adverse reactions in these patients were comparable to those seen in patients with lung cancer. A Step II study, in which gemcitabine was administered once weekly at a dose of 1,000 mg/m2 to chemonaive patients with non-small cell lung cancer, was conducted, referring to the results of Step I and clinical studies conducted overseas. The results of the Step II study demonstrated PR in 5 (14.3%, 95% confidence interval: 4.8 - 30.3%) out of 35 eligible patients with non-small cell lung cancer and that the main adverse reactions were comparable to those seen in the Step I study, posing no tolerability problems in particular.