Twenty-seven patients with advanced and previously untreated non-small cell carcinoma of the lung received combination chemotherapy with CDDP (100 mg/m2 iv on day 1) and etoposide (100 mg/m2 iv on day 2, 4 and 6). Eleven partial responses were observed (response rate of 40.7%), and the median survival of patients was 44.4 weeks. Toxicity was tolerable with moderate myelosuppression. This combination chemotherapy should be recommended for further clinical trials.