Background: Fazarabine is a novel nucleoside with broad spectrum pre-clinical activity and was chosen for study in patients with incurable non-small cell carcinoma of the lung. The expenses associated with investigational treatment have been assumed to be more than what would occur with conventional therapy, however, data are limited.
Methods: Twenty-three patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer were treated with fazarabine. Fazarabine was administered as a 72 hour continuous infusion at 2.0 mg/M2/hour. A cost analysis of treatment was calculated for patients treated in Springfield, MO.
Results: There were no responses (0%, 95% confidence interval = 0-15%) and median survival was 8 months. An analysis of the cost of treatment in the 4 patients treated in Springfield, MO, was compared to the costs of treatment with 4 cycles of cisplatinum and etoposide. There were no significant differences in costs for patients treated with the investigational agent as compared with conventional chemotherapy.
Conclusions: Fazarabine has no demonstrable activity in patients with metastatic non-small cell carcinoma of the lung. Treatment with this agent in an investigational setting was no more expensive than treatment with conventional chemotherapy.