One of the major parameters was the safety of these agents in the respiratory airways and lung parenchyma, since several of these agents are known to cause
adverse effects.23 The main
adverse effects observed were cough, transient fever and transient decrease in the respiratory functions after the aerosol administration.8, 19, 20 Moreover; it has been observed that excessive deposition of these agents in one site of the respiratory system can
induce non-specific
side effects in the form of pulmonary edema as observed with many other drugs.16 These
side effects were milder when a premedication with bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids were administered.8, 19, 20 Until now no long term trial (> 9 months) has been performed since all patients included in previous studies had stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).