Re-examination of maintenance therapy in non-small cell lung cancer with the advent of new anti-cancer agents.

ABSTRACT: Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer remains a disease with a high annual incidence and annual mortality worldwide, with limitations in first-line treatment past a fixed amount of platinum doublet chemotherapy for patients that do not harbor a targetable genetic abnormality such as an EGFR mutation or ALK gene rearrangement. Previous attempts to extend first-line treatment past 4-6 cycles of conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy have been disappointing, resulting in diminished quality of life and increased toxicity without improvement of progression-free or overall survival. Several advances in third-generation chemotherapy and targeted agents have generated a renewed interest in maintenance therapy, with several randomized phase III trials reporting a significant improvement in progression

SUBMITTER: Berge EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4162404 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature