Phase II evaluation of amifostine as an esophageal mucosal protectant in the treatment of limited-stage small cell lung cancer with chemotherapy and twice-daily radiation.

For limited-stage small cell lung cancer, twice-daily radiation with concurrent chemotherapy improves survival rate, but has dose-limiting esophageal toxicity. The authors studied 34 patients treated with amifostine in an attempt to decrease the incidence and grade of esophagitis. The results indicate that there was no reduction in toxicity, but the authors were able to maintain the high complete response rate that had been reported previously. These results differ from the use of amifostine in non-small cell lung cancer in which there is the observation of esophageal protection.