Lung Cancer

TOKYO, Japan-Large, multicenter trials underway in the United Kingdom are questioning whether chemotherapy is actually worth it for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to Jeremy Steele, MD, of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Imaging, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.

Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, and colleagues at Dana-Farber Cancer Center presented an encouraging follow-up report on an initial clinical trial of Cell Genesys’ GVAX lung cancer vaccine at the Ninth World Conference on Lung Cancer in Tokyo,

NEW YORK-The development of computers and diagnostic platforms is facilitating mass screening for lung cancer not only with helical CT but also with sputum cytology, according to Melvyn S. Tockman, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director, Program in Molecular Screening, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa.

WASHINGTON-California’s aggressive tobacco control efforts, which include raising tobacco taxes and using some of that revenue for prevention efforts, appear to have played a significant role in the state’s decrease in lung cancer rates, according to a new collaborative study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Health Services.

NEW YORK-Thinner multislice CT scans are increasing the effectiveness of lung cancer screening, a German investigator said at the 3rd International Conference on Screening for Lung Cancer. U. Joseph Schoepf, MD, of the Institute of Clinical Radiology, University of Munich, showed images from 1 mm slices achieved with the Siemens Volume Zoom. "Obviously, we use the fastest rotation mode that we have available," he said. "That’s a 500 millisecond rotation. With a collimation of 1 mm, that allows us to cover the entire chest in a single breath-hold of about 20 to 25 seconds."

There will be approximately 40,000 new cases of small-cell lung cancer this year. Prior to 1990, there were several agents with single-agent response rates of 30% to nearly 90% in the untreated small-cell lung cancer population

Cisplatin (Platinol)-based chemotherapy has been the standard systemic therapy for both non-small-cell and small-cell lung cancer for the past 2 decades, though the efficacy and benefit remain modest. Recently, several novel

Chemotherapy is currently the main treatment for all stages of small-cell lung cancer. In extensive disease, etoposide/cisplatin (Platinol) is standard treatment, and in limited disease, etoposide/cisplatin with early concurrent

Survival in lung cancer patients has not improved over the past 2 decades. Irinotecan (Camptosar, CPT-11), a semisynthetic analog of the quinoline-based alkaloid camptothecin, is one of several new drugs that have demonstrated promising activity in the treatment of lung cancer in recent years. This article gives a brief overview of the mechanism, development history, and current uses of this agent. [ONCOLOGY 15(Suppl 1):6-7, 2001]

Preclinical data suggest that irinotecan (Camptosar, CPT-11), a novel topoisomerase I inhibitor, has exhibited promising activity in the treatment of lung cancer. In a phase II study of non-small-cell lung cancer, irinotecan

The management of non-small-cell lung cancer is undergoing rapid evolution. Although the advent of combined-modality therapy has led to improved survival, most patients eventually succumb to the disease. The arrival of a

The quest for new, active chemotherapy regimens for lung cancer is an ongoing, dynamic process that has become more challenging in the past 10 years due to the increased number of "active" agents.

Topoisomerase I inhibitors have demonstrated significant activity in non-small-cell lung cancer. In phase II studies, particularly in Japan, single-agent irinotecan (Camptosar, CPT-11) has produced response rates as high

TOKYO-A platinum-based regimen including the investigational antifolate pemetrexed disodium (Alimta) is active and well tolerated in stage IIIb/IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the final results of a phase II trial conducted by the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group and presented at the 9th World Conference on Lung Cancer. The drug may also represent a new option for patients with mesothelioma.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is recruiting 3,000 current and former smokers for its Lung Screening Study, a year-long study of spiral computed tomography (CT) scans for lung cancer screening. Although the study will not determine if the

HAMBURG, Germany-GLOB-1 trial results, reported at the 25th Congress of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), have confirmed the combination of vinorelbine (Navelbine) and cisplatin (Platinol) as a chemotherapy reference standard in metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), raising questions about the role of three-drug combinations in this setting.

TOKYO-A regimen of paclitaxel (Taxol) and vinorelbine (Navelbine) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) appears to yield results similar to those with platinum-based regimens, according to phase I/II studies presented at the 9th World Conference on Lung Cancer.

TOKYO-Neoadjuvant therapy with the taxane docetaxel (Taxotere) is well tolerated and boosts survival over local treatment alone in patients with radically treatable, locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), investigators reported at the Ninth World Conference on Lung Cancer.

The fastest growing segment of the US population is the group over the age of 65 years. In the next 30 years, this group will comprise over 20% of the population. Because 60% of all cancers occur in this age group, there will be an expected rise in the total cancer burden.

The world’s population is aging. Older age is associated with an increase in the incidence of cancer, especially cancer of the breast, lung, prostate, and colon. The management of older patients with cancer is biased by the

OSAKA, Japan-Patients with stage IV non–small-cell lung cancer randomized to a regimen of cisplatin (Platinol) and irinotecan (Camptosar) survived significantly longer than those receiving a cisplatin/vindesine combination in a phase III trial conducted in Japan.

OSAKA, Japan-An overall response rate of 66% was achieved with a combination of irinotecan (Camptosar) and etoposide (VePesid) in patients with advanced small-cell lung cancer in a phase II study performed by the West Japan Thoracic Oncology Group. A final report on the study, conducted from 1995-98, was presented by Shinzoh Kudoh, MD, of Osaka City University School of Medicine.

BARCELONA, Spain-In a phase I study, 70% of small-cell lung cancer patients with extensive disease had objective responses when given carbo-platin (Paraplatin) and epirubicin (Ellence) in combination.

NAGASAKI, Japan-The combination of irinotecan (Camptosar) 40 mg/m² and cisplatin (Platinol) 60 mg/m² with concurrent thoracic radiotherapy should be tested for its potential role in treating patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).The recommendation was made at the conclusion of a phase I trial that evaluated the combination of irinotecan and cisplatin in three dose schedules in patients with histologically or cytologically proven limited-stage SCLC who had not undergone prior therapy for their disease.

NEW ORLEANS-Positron emission tomography (PET) scanning is a powerful predictor of survival in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), reported Michael MacManus, MD, of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, East Melbourne, Australia.

HAMBURG, Germany-“The overall results of the treatment of advanced non–small-cell lung cancer are unsatisfactory,” Ulrich Gatzemeier, MD, said in an overview of recent German trials he presented at the 9th World Conference on Lung Cancer. Dr. Gatzemeier is head of the Department of Thoracic Oncology with Hospital Grosshansdorf, Hamburg, Germany.

TOKYO, Japan-New phase III trial data suggest that irinotecan is one of the most active agents available to treat extensive-disease small-cell lung cancer, outperforming the standard etoposide (VePesid)/cisplatin (Platinol) treatment, while causing less myelosuppression.

HERAKLION, Greece-A multicenter phase III study comparing the triple combination of paclitaxel (Taxol), cisplatin (Platinol), and etoposide (VePesid) to the double combination of cisplatin and etoposide as front-line treatment for small-cell lung cancer was stopped because of eight toxic deaths. Less than a third of the planned number of patients had been accrued.

MADISON, Wisconsin-Although topotecan (Hycamtin) has clear activity in small-cell lung cancer, the optimal combinations, schedule, and route of administration for use of this topoisomerase-I inhibitor as first-line therapy are yet to be determined, according to Joan H. Schiller, MD, of the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Madison, Wisconsin.

TOKYO, Japan-“I remain convinced that irinotecan is one of the most active agents for the treatment of lung cancer, both non–small-cell and small-cell,” stated David H. Johnson, MD, professor of medicine and director of medical oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville. Dr. Johnson was leadoff speaker at a seminar titled ‘‘Current Status of Irinotecan in Lung Cancer’’ held in conjunction with the 9th World Conference on Lung Cancer. The meeting was supported by an educational grant from Pharmacia Oncology, Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Aventis Pharma S.A.