MICE: a new active combination for non-small cell lung cancer

We have treated 38 patients with stage IIIIV non-small cell lung cancer with the following regimen: mitomycin-C = 6 mg/m2, ifosfamide = 3 g/m2, cisplatin = 75 mg/m2, vindesine = 3 mg/m2 (MICE), intravenously (i.v.) on day 1, every 3 weeks. Among 26 patients with stage IV disease, 15 obtained a partial remission (PR) (response rate = 57%, 95% confidence interval = 38–76), with a median time to disease progression and a median survival of 4.9 and 7.1 months, respectively. 6 out 7 patients with stage IIIA disease were documented as PR and 5 of them underwent radical surgery with two pathologically confirmed complete remissions. Overall toxicity was substantial but manageable: 3 patients had grade IIIIV leucopenia (although 5 patients had neutropenic fever) whereas 13 patients experienced grade IIIII anaemia. In conclusion we believe that MICE regimen is an interesting combination and warrants further evaluations both for palliation and in a neoadjuvant setting.