Role of Adjuvant Therapy in Patients With Surgically Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Strategies to eradicate micrometastatic disease in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with postoperative chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy have been under investigation for almost three decades, yet to date, these studies have shown negative or mixed results. Recently accumulated evidence of survival benefit rendered by neoadjuvant chemotherapy added to definitive radiation and perhaps surgery, and the emergence of several new active agents have stimulated interest in reevaluation of adjuvant therapy in NSCLC. Routine use of adjuvant therapy, however, cannot be recommended until results of ongoing and planned clinical trials document its benefit.