A case of small-cell lung cancer effectively treated by bi-weekly administration of amrubicin

The patient was a 62-year-old man with small-cell lung cancer (limited disease). He was treated with cisplatin (CDDP) plus etoposide(ETP) and concurrent radiotherapy as first-line treatment. Although a complete response was achieved, his pro-GRP elevated 10 months later. He was treated with several anticancer agents including, CDDP plus irinotecan (CPT-11), CPT-11, paclitaxel and amrubicin (AMR). Although, as a monotherapy, the administration of AMR (30 mg/m(2)) for 3 consecutive days (3-day schedule) seemed to be most effective, severe myelosuppression was observed, and this treatment was discontinued. We changed the treatment schedule to biweekly administration of AMR (30 mg/m(2)). The level of pro-GRP decreased, and it was maintained at a similar level for 7 months. No severe toxicity was observed during this period. This case suggests that the bi-weekly administration of AMR may be a useful option for the treatment of small-cell lung cancer when a 3-day AMR schedule is highly myelosuppressive.