Interferon trials in small cell lung cancer at one institution: a comparison of results obtained before and after initiation of systematic treatment trials using IFN-alpha in combination with other modalities.

Chemotherapy became the primary treatment for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in the early 1970s. The standard drug combinations were first vincristine, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide (VAC) and then, from the early 1980s, etoposide-platinum combinations. Despite a good initial objective response, however, patients usually suffer a rapid relapse.