[Some aspects of advances in the chemotherapy of bronchogenic carcinoma]

Bronchogenic carcinoma is in the Czech Republic the most frequent malignant tumour in males. For practice the classification into non-small cell bronchogenic carcinoma (NSCLC) and small cell bronchogenic carcinoma (SCLC) is most useful. Views on chemotherapy of NSCLC were before 1980 rather pessimistic. In untreated patients with advanced NSCLC the median survival is 6 months and one-year survival in 10 %. In the nineties, due to the introduction of cytostatics of the IIIrd generation into treatment of NSCLC, the median survival was prolonged to 10 - 12 months and one-year survival is reported in 40 - 50 % patients. The importance of chemotherapy in SCLC was never doubted. By concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy the total period of treatment of patients with SCLC was reduced and the percentage of objective responses increased. Introduction of cytostatics of the third generation is important in particular in treatment of line II SCLC. Basic prognostic factors of successful chemotherapy in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma are the stage of the disease, body weight loss, presence of paraneoplastic symptoms, immune state and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics.