Seminars in oncology
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Seminars in oncology · Dec 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialA phase III randomized evaluation of amifostine in stage IIIA/IIIB non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving concurrent carboplatin, paclitaxel, and radiation therapy followed by gemcitabine and cisplatin intensification: preliminary findings.
Despite the progress in pharmaceutical therapeutics and the hardware and software advances supporting radiation oncology, the major advance in the treatment of locally advanced nonmetastatic non-small cell lung cancer during the previous decade has been the adoption of integrated combined-modality therapy. This has resulted in an appreciation of the associated increase in treatment-related morbidity that has fostered new efforts to maximize the therapeutic index, including evaluation of cytoprotective agents. ⋯ The data to date do not support a cytoprotective advantage to the use of intravenous amifostine targeting esophagitis at 200 mg/m2/d before radiation. Further efforts to assess the role and potential of amifostine in the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer are recommended.