Vinorelbine (Navelbine®) in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer: Studies with single-agent therapy and in combination with cisplatin

Initial studies of vinorelbine (Navelbine®) given as a single agent to patients with operable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed that overall response rates of the order of 30% could be obtained with a schedule of 30 mg/m² given weekly. Although such high levels of response have seldom been obtained when vinorelbine is given alone in one arm of a comparative study, the level of activity is clearly worthwhile and represents a significant improvement over supportive care. Combination therapy with cisplatin has been highly successful, establishing Vinorelbine as a safe well-tolerated agent which provides considerable activity, and experience from large phase III studies suggests that the combination of vinorelbine and cisplatin could represent a reference schedule against which other therapy should be compared.