A randomised phase III study of palliative radiation with concomitant carboplatin for brain metastases from non-small cell carcinoma of the lung

Abstract

Purpose: To determine if the addition of carboplatin chemotherapy to whole brain irradiation improves response and survival in patients with brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and methods: Forty-two patients with brain metastases from NSCLC and performance status ECOG 0-2 were randomised to receive either whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) alone (20 Gy in five fractions) or the same radiotherapy plus concomitant carboplatin (70 mg/m2 intravenously for 5 days). Results: The median survival was 4.4 months in the radiotherapy alone (RT) arm and 3.7 months in the combined treatment (RTC) arm (P=0.64). The objective response rates of 10% on the RT arm and 29% on the R..