The description of chemotherapy delivery: options and pitfalls.

Delivered and planned drug doses in chemotherapy trials are analyzed in relation to dose size, dose rate, and total drug delivery. Time-dose factors are presented in different ways, further exploring what may be misleading when comparing one treatment program with another. The time frame over which treatment intensity is to be calculated is recognized as arbitrary and not necessarily from start to end of treatment. Considerations for doses missed are presented. The cumulative-dose plot represents a new method of data presentation. This method graphically captures both intensity and total drug delivery per patient, and is helpful when analyzing trials designed to isolate treatment variables and improve the therapeutic index of available drugs.