Oat cell carcinoma of the lung. Early treatment results of combination radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Since August 1974, 50 patients with histologically proven oat cell carcinoma of the lung were treated at Indiana University Hospitals with a combination of adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, Oncovin, BCG immunotherapy, and radiation therapy to the primary lung tumor and whole brain. Twenty-nine patients are eligible for a 6-month follow-up and are included in this report. All 29 patients responded to therapy; 12 patients (41%) had a minimum of 50% reduction in tumor mass and 17 patients (59%) had complete clinical remission of disease. Eight (38%) of the 29 patients have remained in complete remission from 6 to 14 months, and 90% of the patients survived a minimum of 6 months. This represents a considerable improvement in survival rates over what had been obtained at Indiana University Hospitals previously.