Amifostine in Treating Patients With Stage II or Stage III Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

RATIONALE: Amifostine may be an effective treatment for the toxic side effects caused by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy and radiation therapy are more effective with or without amifostine for non-small cell lung cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to determine the effectiveness of amifostine in treating patients who have stage II or stage III non-small cell lung cancer that cannot be surgically removed and who are undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically confirmed unresectable stage II, IIIA, or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer No distant metastases No prior complete (or gross subtotal) tumor resection No post-resection intrathoracic tumor recurrence Pleural effusion seen on a chest x-ray allowed only if appearing after thoracotomy or other invasive thoracic procedure (pleural effusion acceptable if seen only on CT scan, not on chest x-ray) Must be ineligible or refused participation in protocol RTOG-9309

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 and over Performance status: Karnofsky 70-100% Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: Absolute granulocyte count at least 2,000/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hemoglobin at least 8.0 g/dL Hepatic: Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 mg/dL\* SGOT no greater than 1.5 times upper limit of normal\* \* Unless due to documented benign disease Renal: Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL Cardiovascular: No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months No symptomatic heart disease, including angina, congestive heart failure, or uncontrolled arrhythmias Other: No weight loss of greater than 5% in 3 months prior to diagnosis No other prior or concurrent invasive malignancy within the past 3 years except nonmelanomatous skin cancer Not pregnant or nursing Negative pregnancy test Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: Not specified Chemotherapy: No prior chemotherapy Endocrine therapy: Not specified Radiotherapy: No prior thoracic or neck radiotherapy Surgery: See Disease Characteristics

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• BACKGROUNDLanger CJ, Swann S, Curran W, et al.: Reassessing prognostic factors in the era of combined modality therapy for locally advanced NSCLC: a retrospective analysis of RTOG 9410 and 9801. [Abstract] Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 63 (2 Suppl 1): A-65, S39, 2005.
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