Combination chemotherapy with mitomycin C, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide in advanced adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma of the lung.

Thirty-six patients with advanced carcinoma of the lung (30 with adenocarcinoma and six with large cell carcinoma) were treated with a combination of mitomycin C, Adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide (MAC) in a phase II study. Seven partial remissions were observed in adenocarcinomas, while none were seen in large cell carcinomas. The survival of patients in remission was clearly prolonged (P less than 0.01), with responders living a median of at least 39 weeks compared to 17 weeks for nonresponders. The combination was well-tolerated with moderate anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and alopecia. Myelosuppression was manageable but was more pronounced in previously chemotherapeutically treated patients. MAC offers a reasonable response rate in patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung with significant prolongation of survival; however, there was no significant advantage when compared to mitomycin C used as a single agent.