PHASE-II STUDY OF PACLITAXEL IN PATIENTS WITH EXTENSIVE-DISEASE SMALL-CELL LUNG-CANCER - AN EASTERN-COOPERATIVE-ONCOLOGY-GROUP STUDY

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Princeton, NJ), a novel diterpene plant product in the treatment of previously untreated patients with extensive-disease small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Patients and Methods: Patients with extensive-disease SCLC received paclitaxel 250 mg/m(2) intravenously over 24 hours every 3 weeks. Nonresponders or partial responders, who received the maximum number of cycles (n=4) of paclitaxel recieved salvage chemotherapy that consisted of etoposide (VP-16) 120 mg/m(2) intravenously over 45 minutes on days 1,2, and 3, and cisplatin 60 mg/m(2) intravenously as a short infusion on day 1. Cycles were repeated every 3 weeks. Results: Of 36 patients entered onto the study, 34 and 32 patients were assessable for toxicity and response, respectively. No complete responses (CRs) were observed. Eleven patients (34%) had a partial response (PR) and six (19%) had stable disease (SD). In three of six patients categorized as having SD, there was greater than 50% tumor shrinkage. However, no 4-week follow-up measurements were made, so these could not be considered PRs, in part because patients received salvage chemotherapy by study design. In this trial, induction and salvage chemotherapy resulted in a response (two Crs and 15 PRs)(53%) in 17 patients. The estimated median survival duration was 43 weeks. Dose-limiting toxicity was leukopenia, with 19 patients who experienced other grade 4 toxicities were as follows: pulmonary, three (9%); liver, two (6%); cardiac, one (3%); stomatitis, one (3%); and allergic reaction, one (3%). Four additional patients had grade 3 leukopenia and one patient (3%) died of sepsis (grade 5 toxicity). Conclusion: Paclitaxel is an active new agent in the treatment of SCLC. Further investigation of this agent in combination with other agents is appropriate. (C) 1995 by American Society Clinical Oncology.