An Open Label, Multicenter, Randomized, Phase III Comparator Study of Oral Topotecan Versus Intravenous Topotecan for Second Line Therapy in Patients With Small Cell Lung Cancer Who Have Relapsed Greater Than or Equal to 90 Days After Completion of First Line Therapy

OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the response rate, response duration, time to response, time to progression, and survival of patients with relapsed limited or extensive stage small cell lung cancer treated with oral vs intravenous topotecan. II. Compare the qualitative and quantitative toxicities of these treatment regimens in this patient population. III. Compare the quality of life in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is randomized, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to gender, liver metastases (yes vs no), and duration of response to prior chemotherapy (6 months or less vs greater than 6 months). Patients are randomized to one of two treatment arms. Arm I: Patients receive topotecan IV over 30 minutes on days 1-5. Arm II: Patients receive topotecan orally on days 1-5. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. Patients experiencing complete or partial response continue until progression or for at least 2 courses past maximal response. Patients with stable disease should receive at least 4 courses. Quality of life is assessed Patients are followed every 3 months.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 300 patients (150 per treatment arm) will be accrued for this study.