Long-term survival in SCLC after treatment with paclitaxel, carboplatin and etoposide--a phase II study.

Purpose: We evaluated the toxicity and feasibility of adding paclitaxel to a standard platinum/etoposide regimen in the first-line treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Patients And Methods: Eighty-nine patients with limited disease (LD) or extensive disease without distant metastases (ED I) were treated in this multi-centered phase II trial between April 1996 and June 1997. Paclitaxel administration (175 mg/m(2) by a 1 h intravenous infusion) was immediately followed by a 30 min infusion of carboplatin at an area under the concentration time curve (AUC) of 5 on day 1 and etoposide 50 mg orally twice daily (bid) was given on days 2-8.