Chemotherapy for lung cancer

Chemotherapy is currently a primary treatment modality for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Combination chemotherapy of anticancer agents improves survival and mortality rather than chemotherapy with single agent. On the other hand, the role of chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) is still controversial. Several meta-analysis demonstrated a small but significant survival benefit of cisplatin-based chemotherapy. In the limited stage SCLC and locally advanced NSCLC, a combination of chemotherapy and thoracic irradiation was found to be superior to chemotherapy alone by several randomized trials and meta-analysis. Concurrent administration of anticancer agents with thoracic irradiation may be optimal treatment. In the last few years, several new agents have demonstrated antitumor activity against lung cancer and randomized trials of these drugs are now under way.