Can combination chemotherapy be standard therapy for sensitive relapsed small-cell-lung cancer?

Abstract

Small-cell-lung cancer (SCLC) is a histological type of lung cancer with distinct clinical phenotypes, such as higher response and relapse rates due to rapid acquisition of resistance to chemotherapy. Therefore, second-line treatment is critical for improving survival in SCLC and is delivered with different regimens after the patients are classified into either sensitive or refractory relapse with a cutoff of 2 or 3 months after the first-line treatment. Topotecan monotherapy (1.5 mg/m 2 on days 1 to 5 every 3 weeks) has been a standard of care for sensitive relapse SCLC. Overall survival in relapsed SCLC with topotecan monotherapy was reported to range from 6.2 to 8.7 months in previously conducted phase III trials (1-3).