Adjuvant chemotherapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer: the past, the present and the future.
Complete resection is mandatory in order to achieve a cure in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, despite complete resection, a substantial proportion of patients have disease recurrence, with distant metastases being the primary sites of failure. Recent trials have conclusively demonstrated the benefit of platinum-based adjuvant therapy in patients with resected stage IB and II NSCLC. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy in resected stage III NSCLC is less clear, with trials showing conflicting results. The role of targeted agents in this setting is being investigated. Gene expression profiling studies should help direct chemotherapy to those who would actually benefit from it, thereby saving others from unnecessary toxicity.
Potti
Anil
A
Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, Division of Hematology, Duke University Medical Center, Box #3382, CIEMAS, Durham, NC 27710, USA. anil.potti@duke.edu
Ganti
Apar Kishor
AK
D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000639:trends; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000517:prevention & control; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000639:trends; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic