Oligometastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: current treatment strategies

The oligometastatic disease theory was initially described in 1995 by Heilman and Weichselbaum. Since then, much work has been performed to investigate its existence in many solid tumors. This has led to subclassifications of stage IV cancer, which could redefine our treatment approaches and the therapeutic outcomes for this historically "incurable" entity. With a high incidence of stage IV disease, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a difficult cancer to treat and cure. Recent work has proven the existence of an oligometastatic state in NSCLC in terms of properly selecting patients who may benefit from aggressive therapy and experience long-term overall survival. This review discusses the current treatment approaches used in oligometastatic NSCLC and provides the evidence and rationale for each approach. The prognostic factors of many trials are discussed, which can be used to properly select patients for aggressive treatment regimens. Future advances in both molecular profiling of NSCLC to find targetable mutations and investigating patient selection may increase the number of patients diagnosed with oligometastatic NSCLC. As this disease entity increases, it is of utmost importance for oncologists treating NSCLC to be aware of the current treatment strategies that exist and the potential advantages/disadvantages of each.