Chemotherapy with vincristine/ifosfamide/carboplatin/etoposide in small cell lung cancer

Although chemotherapy is considered the cornerstone of treatment for small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the majority of SCLC patients relapse and die of their disease within 2 years of diagnosis. Until newer, more effective drugs are developed, both optimization of available chemotherapeutic regimens and the use of combined chemotherapy/radiotherapy will be required to improve the survival of SCLC patients. Combining ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide, among the most active single agents against SCLC, into the ICE regimen was a logical move that has resulted in improved response and survival rates. In limited and extensive SCLC, respectively, ICE and ICE administered with vincristine (VICE) have achieved overall response rates of 79% to 94% and 77% to 100% and 2-year survival rates of 26% to 33% and 9% to 25%, respectively. Treatment-related toxicities, especially myelosuppression, have hindered efforts to accelerate the administration of ICE and VICE regimens and to incorporate them into combined-modality treatments. However, the use of hematologic support measures, including growth factors and peripheral blood progenitor cells, may pave the way for maximizing the effectiveness of these regimens.