Tuberc Respir Dis.  2019 Jul;82(3):179-189. 10.4046/trd.2018.0068.

Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer in the Era of Personalized Medicine

• Lee SH

• KMID: 2450894
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2018.0068

Abstract

Although recent advances in molecular targeted therapy and immuno-oncology have revolutionized the landscape of lung cancer therapeutics, cytotoxic chemotherapy remains an essential component of lung cancer treatment. Extensive evidence has demonstrated the clinical benefit of chemotherapy, either alone or in combination with other treatment modalities, on survival and quality of life of patients with early and advanced lung cancer. Combinational approaches with other classes of anti-neoplastic agents and new drug-delivery systems have revealed promising data and are areas of active investigation. Chemotherapy is recommended as a standard of care in patients that have progressed after tyrosine kinase inhibitors or immune checkpoint inhibitors. Chemotherapy remains the fundamental means of lung cancer management and keeps expanding its clinical implication. This review will discuss the current position and future role of chemotherapy, and specific consideration for its clinical application in the era of precision medicine.

Keyword

Chemotherapy; Lung Neoplasms; Precision Medicine; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Immunotherapy; History; Evolution

MeSH Terms

Drug Therapy*
Humans
Immunotherapy
Lung Neoplasms*
Lung*
Molecular Targeted Therapy
Precision Medicine*
Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
Quality of Life
Standard of Care
Protein-Tyrosine Kinases

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 History of chemotherapy-based treatment for lung cancer. Evolution of the therapeutic strategies (A) and progress of survival benefit according to the landmark trials (B). NSCLC: non-small cell lung cancer; SCLC: small cell lung cancer; OS: overall survival; OSR: overall survival rate.

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