Preoperative Chemotherapy in Early-Stage Lung Cancer: Where Are We Now?

A recent report suggests benefits from preoperative chemotherapy, but findings were not statistically significant.

Study findings in the 1990s showed encouraging survival benefits in patients with early-stage non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were treated with surgery and chemotherapy (preoperatively or postoperatively) versus surgery alone. Subsequently, evidence from randomized phase III trials demonstrated improved survival with postoperative chemotherapy, making this the favored approach. Although preoperative chemotherapy also showed promising results, some trials were stopped early when survival benefits from postoperative chemotherapy were reported.

A recently published report describes one of these prematurely terminated trials. Initiated in 1999, the trial involved 354 patients with resectable, clinical stage IB–IIIA NSCLC (excluding superi…

Reviewing Author

Lin-Chi Chen, MD, PhD