Etoposide and high-dose cisplatin in good-risk patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Fifty patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the lung having good prognostic features (performance status less than or equal to 2; weight loss less than or equal to 10%; age less than or equal to 70 years; absence of brain metastases; and no prior treatment) were treated on an outpatient basis with etoposide (120 mg/m2 on Days 1, 3, and 5) and cisplatin (60 mg/m2 on Days 1 and 2) every 21-28 days. One complete response and 14 partial responses were observed, with a median duration of response of 170 days and an overall median survival of 230 days. Toxicity was generally mild. Despite the high-dose cisplatin employed and the choice of patients with favorable prognostic factors in this study, results of this therapy remain disappointing.