State of the art in therapy for non-small cell lung cancer

The treatment of lung cancer has changed rapidly over the last few years and now more than ever a multi-disciplinary approach is vital to patient care. Surgical resection remains the mainstay of treatment for patients with operable disease. Recent studies have clearly demonstrated the survival benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy and this is now considered the standard of care. Despite efforts to improve early detection the majority of patients present with advanced lung cancer. The combination of radiation and chemotherapy should be considered for patients with locally advanced disease. Chemotherapy and the newer generation of molecularly targeted agents, provide quality of life benefits and modest gains in survival for patients with metastatic disease. Though there is room for improvement there is no justification for the therapeutic nihilism once surrounding the treatment of lung cancer.