Dose-intensive chemotherapy with cisplatin, vincristine, doxorubicin and etoposide against lung cancer: a pilot study.

We carried out the present study for the purpose of investigating the toxicity and efficacy of dose-intensive chemotherapy (Tokushima-CODE; T-CODE) against advanced lung cancer. Ten patients (8 with small-cell lung cancer and 2 with non-small-cell lung cancer) received chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin (27 mg/m2 on days 1-3), vincristine (0.7 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8), doxorubicin (40 mg/m2 on day 1) and etoposide (133 mg/m2 on days 1-3). Recombinant granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (75 micrograms/body on days 4-15) was injected subcutaneously. Nine patients had measurable lesions, and they all experienced partial responses. WHO grades 3 and 4 leukopenia was found in 7 out of 10 patients; thrombocytopenia (grades 3 and 4) was seen in 5 out of 10 patients during the first cycle. These results suggest that T-CODE chemotherapy is a promising induction chemotherapy.