Background: Amrubicin is an active agent for the treatment of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, there have been no reports of long-term amrubicin use.
Patients and methods: Twelve patients with SCLC who were treated with eight or more cycles of amrubicin chemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed.
Results: The median number of cycles of amrubicin chemotherapy received by the patients was 12 (range=8-20), and the median cumulative dose of amrubicin was 2076 mg (range=1200-2856 mg). The median survival time of the study patients was 1104 days (range=459-1997 days). The main adverse events observed during amrubicin chemotherapy were leukopenia and neutropenia. The cardiothoracic ratio (CTR), expressed as the mean (standard deviation) of the values measured at the initiation and termination of amrubicin chemotherapy was 46.2 (4.0), and 46.1 (5.1), respectively. The change in CTR did not reach statistical significance (p=0.92).
Conclusion: Long-term amrubicin chemotherapy is a safe and effective treatment that is associated with a good survival prognosis in properly selected patients.