Vincristine (NSC-67574) in the treatment of small-cell anaplastic carcinoma of the lung.

In a phase II trial the effect of vincristine as a single agent was evaluated in patients with small-cell anaplastic carcinoma of the lung. The dosage of vincristine was 1.5 mg/m2/week given iv for 4 weeks, followed by 1.5 mg/m2 given every other week with dose modifications according to neurologic tolerance. Nineteen of 27 patients included in the study were evaluable. Objective response was observed in eight patients (42%) including three who were not previously treated and five who were previously treated. The median duration of response was 60 days (range, 21-182 days) with the response always occurring within 4 weeks. This study demonstrates that vincristine is an active agent for small-cell anaplastic carcinoma without cross resistance to CCNU, cyclophosphamide, or methotrexate.