5-fluorouracil, adriamycin, and mitomycin-C (FAM) chemotherapy in advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung: comparison of two dosage schedules.

Fifty patients with inoperable adenocarcinoma of the lung were randomized in a prospective study to receive either standard doses or high doses of 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin, and mitomycin-C (FAM versus Hi-FAM). The response/stabilization rate was 32% for FAM and 34% for Hi-FAM (P greater than 0.05), and the median survival was 27 weeks for FAM group and 24 weeks for Hi-FAM group (P greater than 0.05). Myelotoxicity was mild in FAM, but moderate to severe in Hi-FAM. It is concluded that Hi-FAM did not yield a higher response rate or median survival compared with FAM, but caused significantly more severe myelotoxicity.