Management of advanced non-small cell lung cancer: current trends

Carcinoma of the lung continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for Americans. Major efforts have been made in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer; chemotherapy and investigations in the last decade have yielded a number of new agents and combinations. Despite progress with newer agents for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, only 14% of patients with the disease are alive 5 years after the initial diagnosis. Toward improving the outcome of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, a few trends can be identified. These include further work on combination chemotherapy, the introduction of novel biologic agents into treatment, and predicting which patients will respond to chemotherapy. These trends are discussed in this review.