The future of adjuvant chemotherapy for resected non-small cell lung cancer.
Non-small cell lung cancer is a frequent type of cancer, with approximately 1.2 million cases per year expected worldwide. A total of 20-30% of patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer are amenable to radical surgery, although only 40-50% of these patients are cured. An improvement in survival has never been demonstrated for postoperative radiotherapy. However, a major step forward is several recent large randomized studies that have demonstrated improved survival with postoperative chemotherapy. This review covers the historic data on adjuvant chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer, meta-analyses, modern studies with cisplatin-based or other chemotherapy, implications for current clinical practice and guidelines, some practical recommendations and, finally, the questions for future studies.
Vansteenkiste
Johan F
JF
Respiratory Oncology Unit (Pulmonology), Leuven Lung Cancer Group, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. johan.vansteenkiste@uz.kuleuven.ac.be
Schildermans
Rob H
RH
D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011379:Prognosis; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013534:Survival