"I am glad that taking part in a trial might help others on their own cancer journey.”
A trial looking at standard treatment with or without chemotherapy for non small lung cancer (Big Lung Trial)
Cancer type:
Lung cancer
Non small cell lung cancer
Status:
Results
Phase:
Phase 3
This trial looked at surgery, radiotherapy or best supportive care with or without chemotherapy for people with non small lung cancer.
Depending on the stage of the cancer, doctors usually treat non small lung cancer with surgery, radiotherapy or 
. Earlier research showed combination chemotherapy that included the drug cisplatin could be helpful for people with non small cell lung cancer. So the doctors running this trial wanted to find out if having chemotherapy with standard treatment is useful for this group of patients.
The aims of this large trial were to find out
- If having chemotherapy in addition to surgery, radiotherapy or best supportive care controls the cancer for longer
- More about side effects and quality of life
Summary of results
The researchers in this trial found that adding chemotherapy to radiotherapy or surgery was not a useful treatment for non small cell lung cancer. But they say it did help people who had best supportive care.
1, 394 people with non small cell lung cancer took part in the trial
- 381 had surgery
- 288 had radiotherapy
- 725 had best supportive care
In each of the 3 different treatment groups, half had their treatment alone and half had their treatment and one of the following chemotherapy combinations
- Cisplatin and vindesine (CV)
- Mitomycin, ifosfamide and cisplatin (MIC)
- Mitomycin, vinblastine and cisplatin (CVP)
- Vinorelbine (Navelbine) and cisplatin (NP)
The researchers analysed the results in 2003. They looked at how well the treatment worked. They found that having chemotherapy with surgery or radiotherapy did not work any better than either treatment alone.
When they looked at the results for the best supportive group, they found that adding chemotherapy to best supportive care helped this group of patients without affecting quality of life. The number of people alive one year after treatment was slightly higher in the group who had best supportive care and chemotherapy (29%) compared to the group who had best supportive care alone (20%). On average, the people who had chemotherapy and best supportive care lived about 2 ½ months longer than the group who had best supportive care alone.
The main side effects of chemotherapy included a drop in blood cells and feeling or being sick. The side effects were worse for people who had 3 different chemotherapy drugs compared to those who had had 2.
We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Recruitment start:
Recruitment end:
How to join a clinical trial
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
Chief Investigator
Dr Robin Rudd
Professor SG Spiro
Supported by
British Thoracic Society
National Institute for Health Research Cancer Research Network (NCRN)
The National Health Service (NHS)
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
Last review date
CRUK internal database number:
Oracle 958
Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
Cara took part in a clinical trial
