CODE CHEMOTHERAPY WITH OR WITHOUT RECOMBINANT HUMAN GRANULOCYTE COLONY-STIMULATING FACTOR IN EXTENSIVE-STAGE SMALL-CELL LUNG-CANCER

CODE therapy demonstrated high antitumor activity in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Toxicity was acceptable in a regimen with a nine-cycle schedule. The results obtained in this study suggest that CODE therapy improves the outcome of patients with extensive-stage SCLC. The use of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor may well reduce the duration and degree of neutropenia during CODE chemotherapy and increase the dose intensity, leading to further improvement of outcome.