Abstract

ESTEBAN, E. et al. Adjuvant treatment of non-small cell lung cancer patients: State of the scientific evidence. Oncología (Barc.) [online]. 2006, vol.29, n.9, pp.24-33. ISSN 0378-4835.

Surgery is the current treatment of choice in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Based on the high rates of recurrence, additional local and systemic treatments have been developed, aimed at improving the cure rates. The comparative studies about the benefits of post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, and the meta-analysis studies made during the last decades, reviewed in some articles appeared in 95 and 97, did not confirm a significant improvement of the overall survival. Since then, new comparative trials carried out with a higher number of patients and with more active and standard chemotherapy seem to show a benefit of the administration of platinum-based chemotherapy, although it has not gained general acceptance. More recently, a new meta-analysis, that included the previous studies, has confirmed an overall increase of 4 % in survival of patients treated by surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy, especially in stages II-III patients receiving schedules of cisplatin and vinorelbine. Further studies are needed to determine the real therapeutic value of other agents, as uracil-tegafur and radiotherapy.

Keywords : Lung cancer; Surgery; Adjuvant treatment; Chemotherapy; Radiotherapy.

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