The use of levamisole as an adjunct to chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the treatment of small cell carcinoma of the lung

• Published in: Medical journal of Australia Vol. 2; no. 6; p. 285
• Main Authors: Ainslie, J, Burdon, J G, Henderson, M M, Ilbery, P L, Matthews, J P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia 17.09.1983
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Carcinoma, Small Cell - mortality; Carcinoma, Small Cell - radiotherapy; Carcinoma, Small Cell - therapy; Clinical Trials as Topic; Combined Modality Therapy; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Levamisole - administration & dosage; Lung Neoplasms - mortality; Lung Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Lung Neoplasms - therapy; Male; Middle Aged; Random Allocation
• ISSN: 0025-729X
• DOI: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1983.tb122466.x

To test the efficacy of immunotherapy in the treatment of small cell carcinoma of the lung, patients were allocated at random, in a double-blind controlled trial, to treatment with either levamisole or placebo as an adjunct to chemotherapy with multiple drugs (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, methotrexate and adriamycin) and to radiotherapy. We report here the results of a pilot study of 13 patients. The median survival period of the patients who were given levamisole was 25 weeks. This was significantly shorter (P less than 0.05) than that of the patients who were given placebo (46 weeks).