Abstract
Although lung cancer prognosis remains poor for most patients, treatments developed in the past 2 decades have extended survival for many. For those with disease that responded to or those with stable disease after receipt of platinum-based chemotherapy, maintenance regimens enable continued targeting of tumors beyond the induction phase, which is limited by toxicity. This overview summarizes completed phase 3 trials of pemetrexed continuation maintenance treatment in nonsquamous, non–small-cell lung cancer with a focus on 2-year survival, and highlights similar ongoing trials. Some studies showed survival benefits of pemetrexed maintenance treatment versus control arms, with the potential for added benefit when combined with bevacizumab. Two-year survival rates underscore the value of maintenance therapy and suggest progress toward a clinical goal of managing non–small-cell lung cancer as a treatable chronic disease.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | e823-e830 |
| Journal | Clinical Lung Cancer |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2018 |
Funding
Funded by Eli Lilly and Company. The authors thank Emily Cullinan, PhD, Larry Macke, ELS, and Noelle Gasco (inVentiv Health Clinical) for writing and editing support. The sponsor was involved in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and, in agreement with all authors, in the decision to submit the report for publication.
Keywords
- Antifolate
- Chemotherapy
- Clinical trials
- NSCLC
- Survival rates
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
- Cancer Research
