Background: Liposomal cisplatin is a new formulation developed to reduce the systemic toxicity of cisplatin while simultaneously improving the targeting of the drug to the primary tumor and to metastases by increasing circulation time in the body fluids and tissues. The primary objectives were to determine nephrotoxicity, gastrointestinal side-effects, peripheral neuropathy and hematological toxicity and secondary objectives were to determine the response rate, time to tumor progression (TTP) and survival.Patients and methods: Two hundred and thirty-six chemotherapy-naive patients with inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer were randomly allocated to receive either 200 mg/m2 of liposomal cisplatin and 135 mg/m2 paclitaxel (arm A) or 75 mg/m2 cisplatin and 135 mg/m2 paclitaxel (arm B), once every 2 weeks on an outpatient basis. Two hundred and twenty-nine patients were assessable for toxicity, response rate and survival. Nine treatment cycles were planned.Results: Arm A patients showed statistically significant lower nephrotoxicity, grade 3 and 4 leucopenia, grade 2 and 3 neuropathy, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. There was no significant difference in median and overall survival and TTP between the two arms; median survival was 9 and 10 months in arms A and B, respectively, and TTP was 6.5 and 6 months in arms A and B, respectively.Conclusions: Liposomal cisplatin in combination with paclitaxel has been shown to be much less toxic than the original cisplatin combined with paclitaxel. Nephrotoxicity in particular was negligible after liposomal cisplatin administration. TTP and survival were similar in both treatment arms.

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PurposeLiposomal cisplatin was developed to reduce the systemic toxicity of cisplatin, particularly the nephrotoxicity, and it has been used in combination with other agents in pancreatic and head and neck cancers and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our objective was to compare the effectiveness of lipoplatin combined with paclitaxel versus cisplatin with paclitaxel in advanced non-squamous NSCLC.MethodsDuring 2007–2010, 202 patients with non-squamous NSCLC (stage IIIB and IV) were recruited from the two participating institutions and divided into two arms: Arm A was treated with liposomal cisplatin 200 mg/m2 combined with paclitaxel 135 mg/m2 and Arm B with cisplatin 75 mg/m2 in combination with paclitaxel 135 mg/m2, repeated every 2 weeks. The number of cycles administered was 632 (Arm A) and 640 (Arm B), totaling 1,272.ResultsA partial response was achieved by 59.22% of Arm A patients versus 42.42% of Arm B, and the difference was statistically significant (P 0.036). The median survival time in months was 10 for Arm A and 8 for Arm B (P 0.1551). After 18 months, the number of surviving patients was double for Arm A versus Arm B.ConclusionLiposomal cisplatin in combination with paclitaxel produces a statistically significantly higher response rate than cisplatin combined with paclitaxel in non-squamous NSCLC.

PCT combined with VRL produces similar (non-significant) response rates, survival and toxicity (except for neutropenia, as noted above) to standard CRP-PCT treatment in untreated advanced-stage NSCLC.

Our purpose was to determine the efficacy of irinotecan plus paclitaxel administered on day 1, repeated every 2 weeks, in untreated patients with advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In total, 56 patients with inoperable or metastatic stage III and IV NSCLC with a histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis were enrolled. None of the patients had undergone prior chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Treatment involved irinotecan 125 mg m À2 and paclitaxel 135 mg m À2 administered on day 1 and repeated every 2 weeks for a planned number of nine cycles. With a standard dose of paclitaxel at 135 mg m À2 , the dosage of irinotecan was escalated at four levels: 75, 100, 125 and 150 mg m À2 ; 125 mg m À2 was established as the maximum tolerated dose; this dosage was administered to 46 patients. A total of 52 patients (median age 65 years, range 38 -77 years) were assessable for toxicity and survival and 46 for response rate. Out of 46 evaluable patients, 19 achieved partial response (41.3%), 17 had stable disease (37%) and 10 (21.7%) experienced disease progression. The median duration of response was 6 months (range 2 -9 þ months). The main adverse reactions were myelotoxicity (grades 3 and 4) in 10 (19.2%) patients and diarrhoea (grade 3) in four (7.7%) patients. Irinotecan combined with paclitaxel, administered every 2 weeks, appears to be an effective treatment for advancedstage NSCLC.