A brief look at the evaluation of the development and effectiveness of cytotoxic chemotherapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Systemic chemotherapy for patients with advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer prolongs survival and palliates symptoms, when compared with the best supportive care alone. However, the results of standard cytotoxic regimens are not yet satisfactory. As the effectiveness in the treatment of refractory disease is low, it still remains critical to better understand and develop new treatment options for refractory disease. Within the second-line therapeutic approaches, there are new chemotherapeutic schemes as well as molecular-targeted treatment options that block the epidermal growth factor receptor or angiogenesis. Future research efforts should focus on identifying prognostic and predictive markers of benefit not only for the standard cytotoxic agents, but also for the new target-driven agents currently.