Cyclic combination chemotherapy in advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung: comparison of two FAM schedules.

Forty patients with advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung were treated by two FAM chemotherapy schedules. Group A (20 patients) received Futraful, adriamycin, and mitomycin C, and group B (20 patients) received 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin, and mitomycin C. The response/stabilization rate was greater for group B (4 partial responses + 4 cases of stable disease) than for group A (no responders + 5 cases of stable disease), and the median survival was longer for group B (32 weeks) than for group A (22 weeks), although the differences did not reach statistical significance in either case (P greater than 0.05). Myelotoxicity was mild in both schedules. Further studies of the two FAM schemes at an escalated dose would be worthwhile.