Cisplatin and etoposide before definitive radiation therapy for inoperable squamous carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma of the lung: a phase I-II study of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.

A trial of "neoadjuvant" cisplatin-etoposide and radiation therapy was conducted by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group for non-small cell carcinoma of the lung limited to the thorax. Thirty evaluable patients were studied: two achieved complete response and four achieved partial response after chemotherapy. All patients underwent radiation therapy as planned, with no unusual acute reactions. Sixteen patients had local failure, and 13 had distant metastasis. Twenty-seven patients are dead, two are alive with cancer, and one is clinically free of cancer at 145 weeks. Five of six patients who survived greater than or equal to 2 years after treatment had adenocarcinomas. There was no unexpected late toxicity. This combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy is unlikely to improve results in the treatment of inoperable non-small cell carcinoma of the lung over those with radiotherapy alone.