Should Second-Line Treatment Be Delayed for Lung Cancer Patients?

Patients who received docetaxel immediately after first-line therapy had longer progression-free survival than those who delayed second-line treatment.

Non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. Patients with NSCLC are generally treated with 4 to 6 cycles of front-line platinum-based doublet chemotherapy, but prolonged treatment with this approach does not provide additional benefit (J Clin Oncol 2007; 25:5155). Second-line therapy — typically with FDA-approved chemotherapy agents such as docetaxel, erlotinib (Tarceva), and pemetrexed (Alimta) — is usually instituted at disease progression. However, results of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 4599 study indicated that NSCLC patients who received continuation therapy with bevacizumab (Avastin) immediately after treatment with carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab had longer me…

Reviewing Author

Lin-Chi Chen, MD, PhD