Vol.54 No.3 May 2006
Evidence-based chemotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer
National Sanyo Hospital, 685 Higashikiwa, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
Abstract
I reviewed the role of chemotherapy in treating non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). For stage I/II NSCLC patients, adjuvant chemotherapy is currently considered to be the standard treatment. Induction chemotherapy followed by surgery is often conducted in patients with stage IIIA NSCLC. However, since sufficient evidence to recommend this modality has not been obtained, further investigation including the need for surgery is warranted. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment for stage IIIB NSCLC patients. For stage IV NSCLC patients, a two-drug combination consisting of platinum and one of new agents developed in the 1990s is the standard treatment, and docetaxel monotherapy is recommended for previously treated patients. Although molecular targeting agents such as gefitinib and erlotinib are considered to be hopeful, their effectiveness has not been confirmed.
Key word
non-small cell lung cancer, chemotherapy, EBM
Received
August 29, 2005
Accepted
September 29, 2005
Jpn. J. Chemother. 54 (3): 227-231, 2006
