Twenty patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung resistant to primary therapy, or relapsing after an objective response to initial treatment, were treated with vinblastine plus high-dose cisplatin chemotherapy. One patient achieved a partial remission lasting 4 months, while 19 patients had no objective response to this regimen. The median survival from the time of disease progression to death was 2.5 months (range, 1-7), with an overall median survival of 13 months (range, 5-31; diagnosis to death). In our patients, vinblastine plus cisplatin given as salvage therapy did not produce a significant response rate or survival prolongation.