Second-line chemotherapy for small-cell lung cancer: a review

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive malignancy, and only a minority of patients survive 2 years. Although this cancer is sensitive to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the majority of patients relapse, and second-line treatment is an option for many. Currently in the United States, the combination of cisplatin/etoposide is the standard first-line therapy in SCLC. At this time, topotecan is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved chemotherapeutic agent for second-line treatment of SCLC. In this paper, we review studies of second-line chemotherapy for SCLC.