Maintenance chemotherapy: an evolving and increasingly acceptable strategy in cancer management.
Individual randomized phase 3 trials and meta-analyses of previously published studies have provided support for the general concept of the clinical utility of extending the duration of antineoplastic drug therapy in an effort to prolong ("maintain") a favorable clinical state. This commentary briefly reviews data from several of these reports.
Markman
Maurie
M
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, 77030, USA. mmarkman@mdanderson.org
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D024221:Antineoplastic Protocols / Q000145:classification; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents