<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>To investigate whether high-
dose toremifene can enhance the
efficacy of
chemotherapy in non
small cell lung cancer .</p><p><b>
METHODS </b>Untreated stage IIIB/IV
non-small cell lung cancer patients were randomly devided into group A (high-
dose toremifene combined with the
platinum -based
chemotherapy ) or group B (the same
platinum -based
chemotherapy alone).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 30 eligible
patients had been recruited. Hemotologic and nonhemotologic toxicities were
similar with no
statistic difference. The median
survival for group A was 8 months, 95% CI (6.63-9.37) versus 7.5 months, 95% CI (4.75-10.25) for group B ( P =0.9). One year-
survival rate was 31% for group A versus 28% for group B ( P =0.87). The response rate was 25% for group A versus 21% for group B ( P =0.99).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The results suggest that high-
dose toremifene does not enhance the
efficacy of
platinum -based
chemotherapy for IIIB/IV
non-small cell lung cancer but toxicities are well tolerated.</p>