Combination chemotherapy for 418 cases of advanced cancer

Chemotherapy was instituted in 418 cases of advanced cancer. A 5-drug regimen was administered, without interruption, for periods of from one month to 3 years. Side effects were not prohibitive. There was maintained reduction in size of the tumors for more than 6 months in 54% of the total group; 29.6% of the patients have been on therapy for over a year. The median survival times from the onset of treatment ranged from 5 to 16.5 months according to site of the primary. These results are discussed in the light of what is known about clinical resistance to drugs and studies on tumor growth. It is concluded that combinations of cytostatic agents without cross resistance are necessary to achieve acceptable results and that randomized trials should be performed with a single drug in measurable tumors as a first step in order to gain quantitative information about the effectiveness of, and the tumor resistance against, available drugs.