Ifosfamide, cisplatin, vinblastine combination chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

A total of 42 evaluable patients with previously untreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer were treated with a combination of cisplatin (80 mg/m², day 1), vinblastine (5 mg/m², days 1 and 15), and ifosfamide (1.2 g/m², days 1-3). In all, 1 complete response and 15 partial responses were obtained, for an overall response rate of 38% (95% confidence limits, 23.6%-54.4%). The median duration of response was 15 weeks, and the median overall survival was 56 weeks. Toxicity mainly consisted of moderate to severe alopecia in 28 patients (67%), moderate to severe nausea and vomiting in 27 subjects (64%), and leukopenia comprising <1,000 leukocytes/mm³ in 6 cases (14%). In all, 16 patients (38%) had microscopic hematuria (WHO grade 1), but no hemorrhagic cystitis was documented. Although this three-drug combination appears to have moderate antitumor activity against nonsmall-cell lung cancer, the addition of ifosfamide to the combination of cisplatin and vinblastine did not seem to improve the response rate.