Treatment of performance status 2 patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: what we know and what we don't know.
Performance status (PS)2 patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer have been historically excluded from clinical trials, and scant data are available to guide clinical practice. As in other types of cancer, PS represents a recognized prognostic factor, and the life expectancy for PS2 patients is nearly half that of the PS0/1 patients. Even if single-agent chemotherapy still remains the reference treatment, recent data suggest a role for new agents or combination chemotherapy in these patients. A large Phase III randomized trial comparing single-agent versus combination chemotherapy is strongly needed.
Tartarone
Alfredo
A
Division of Medical Oncology, Centro di riferimento oncologico di Basilicata, I.R.C.C.S., via Padre Pio 1, Rionero in Vulture (PZ), Italy. tarta1@virgilio.it
Aieta
Michele
M
D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D017567:Karnofsky Performance Status; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*