Fiona,
I am assuming your mother has adenocarinoma of lung, and that grade 3 is the
equivalent of stage 3 for NSCLC. I was dx w/stage 4 inoperable, unradiable
lung adenocarcinoma last Dec. After 6 chemo tx of
taxotere(docetaxel)/cisplatin, my CT-scans were clear. If your mother is
only stage 3 and fairly healthy, the possibilities for surgery and radiation
greatly improve her odds. I copied an article regarding improved survival
rates for lung cancer patients that I found very encouraging. Other research
facilities are starting to publish similar findings. Taxol/carboplatin is
now considered the new US standard, but tests of other new drugs are showing
even better results.
Tricia
Vanderbilt Studies Show Improvement in Lung Cancer Survival
DUBLIN, IRELAND and NASHVILLE, TENN. -- August 12, 1997 -- Researchers from
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are at the forefront of
pioneering new ways of treating and improving the survival and quality of
life of patients with lung cancer.
Results from various Vanderbilt clinical trials that have studied the
combination of chemotherapy drugs with and without radiation therapy are
providing new hope for patients fighting this deadly cancer. These findings
were presented at the 8th World Conference on Lung Cancer meeting, Dublin,
Ireland. More than 2,000 lung cancer experts gathered in Ireland this week to
share cutting-edge lung cancer data from around the world.
Overall, five-year survival for lung cancer has been stubbornly low -- 12
percent in 1973 and 13 percent in 1992. Results from the Vanderbilt studies
reported at this meeting are showing survival rates of 40, 50 and 60 percent,
sometimes at two and three years, which allows optimism that the five-year
survival rates will also show improvement.
Chemo-Radiation Therapy
Dr. Hak Choy, associate professor of Radiology and Radiologic Sciences and
clinical director, Center for Radiation Oncology, VUMC, reported results from
a multi-centered study evaluating the combination of Taxol (paclitaxel), and
carboplatin with radiation therapy in patients with advanced non-small cell
lung cancer (NSCLC). Survival rates were 61 percent at one year and 40
percent at two years, an improvement over the standard therapy, according to
Dr. Choy. In patients with advanced NSCLC the historical median survival has
been 9 to 12 months with a five-year survival rate of 5 percent.
This study takes Dr. Choy's early work combining Taxol with radiation therapy
-- which resulted in a two-year survival rate of 35 percent -- a step further
by including carboplatin. According to Dr. Choy, the next step in this line
of research will be to launch a randomized, multi-centered trial that
compares different regimens of Taxol, carboplatin and radiation.
Landmark Studies
Research such as Dr. Choy's chemo-radiation studies are impossible without
initial trials comparing Taxol combinations to the historical standard of
care.
David Johnson, M.D., Cornelius A. Craig Professor of Medicine and Director of
Medical Oncology, VUMC, presented data from the large, phase III, randomized
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG 5592) trial comparing Taxol plus a
platinum agent to the treatment standard, cisplatin/VP-16.
Results from this 599-patient trial demonstrated that patients with advanced
NSCLC receiving the Taxol/platinum combination experienced 25 to 30 percent
survival increase compared to the standard regimen, which is statistically
significant.
"Lung cancer is extremely difficult to treat and any survival advantage, even
the two or three months found in this study, is clinically meaningful to the
patient," said Dr. Johnson. "Taxol is the most active agent we have seen for
the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, and we are just beginning to
realize its full potential in combination therapy."
A European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)
randomized study of 332 advanced NSCLC patients showed a response rate of 48
percent for patients who received the Taxol/platinum drug combination, as
compared to 28 percent for the standard teniposide/cisplatin combination.
Median survival was more than nine months. An improved quality of life was
reported in the Taxol arm of the study.
Paradigm Shift
Some 178,100 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 1997 and 160,400
will die from the disease. Lung cancer has surpassed breast cancer as the
number one cancer killer of American women, and the disease continues to
increase in women. Similar trends have been observed in Western Europe where
lung cancer affects an estimated 274,000 people. About 80 percent of all
these cases are NSCLC.
In recent years several drugs, including Taxol, have emerged as active
against NSCLC. Many of these drugs are being extensively studied, especially
in combination with platinum agents and concurrent radiation therapy.
"Regardless of the outcome of ongoing trials, these collective data indicate
that the therapeutic nihilism of the past is unwarranted," said Dr. Johnson.
"Further, from the data being presented at this meeting it is clear that lung
cancer patients have many more treatment options than in the past. For
patients with advanced lung cancer these include combination chemotherapy
alone or combination chemotherapy with radiation or surgery or both."
Here is the address for dated haemotology and oncology news articles:
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/haematonews.htm
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