[Recent trends of chemotherapy in small cell lung cancer: a slow but steady progress]

The author reviewed some distinct findings concerning chemotherapy of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) which had appeared recently in the articles of journals and proceedings. Of new drugs, teniposide and carboplatin have a significant activity against SCLC, however, the usefulness of these drugs must be determined in the comparative fashion with their mother compounds. Cisplatin plus etoposide (PVP), which was demonstrated to have a distinct activity in previously treated SCLC and to be not fully cross-resistant to CAV, has recently been incorporated into the first-line treatment. PVP has been evaluated as either induction chemotherapy or consolidation therapy, as alternating chemotherapy with CAV and as a chemotherapy regimen in the combined modality treatment with chest irradiation. The data obtained provide results comparable or rather superior to those achieved with CAV or other conventional regimens when used as induction chemotherapy, and provide some encouraging results when used as consolidation chemotherapy and in combination with chest irradiation. Four trials have been conducted to test the usefulness of CAV-PVP alternation, however, the results is still controversial. Recently, two institutions reported the results of pilot study of an intensive weekly chemotherapy. Although the complete response rate of the weekly regimens appears superior to that of conventional regimens, the survival benefit is still obscure because of an inadequate follow-up time. The pace of therapeutic advances in SCLC has slowed and appears to reach a plateau, however, recent articles indicate a slow but steady progress in the treatment of SCLC.