An international, multi-institutional study presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held May 29–June 2 in Orlando, Fla, found that use of pemetrexed (Alimta) as maintenance therapy following standard treatment improves overall survival for patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); the study also further confirmed that this benefit is primarily limited to those with the nonsquamous subtype (abstract CRA8000). More »

Lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States for years, and since 1988, it has become the number-one cause of cancer death among women. An estimated 220,020 new cases of lung cancer are expected in 2008, and 162,610 deaths due to this disease are expected to occur. This exceeds the combined number of deaths from the leading causes of cancer (breast, prostate, and colon cancers). It accounts for 6% of all deaths in the United States. More »

As discussed in chapter 6, there are two major subdivisions of lung cancer: small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), for which chemotherapy is the primary treatment, and non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). SCLC is decreasing in frequency in the United States, with recent data showing it represents only 14% of lung cancers. This chapter provides information on the staging and prognosis, pathology and pathophysiology, treatment, and follow-up of long-term survivors of SCLC and concludes with brief... More »

Genentech, Inc, announced that a phase III study (ATLAS) of erlotinib (Tarceva) in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin) as maintenance therapy following initial treatment with Avastin plus chemotherapy in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) met its primary endpoint. More »

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 15% of the 215,000 new lung cancer diagnoses in the United States annually. With a case-fatality rate greater than 90%, SCLC will be the cause of over 25,000 deaths in 2008 alone. More »

Hann/Rudin Article Reviewed. Hann and Rudin have provided a comprehensive and thoughtful review of the current management of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). More »

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 15% of all lung cancers diagnosed in the United States. It is characterized by initial sensitivity to chemotherapy, but a rapid progression to refractory disease and death in a majority of patients. More »

NEW ORLEANS—An in-depth assessment of PET/CT at two German teaching hospitals has shown the fusion imaging technology improves on CT alone and pays dividends clinically and financially for staging non-small-cell lung cancer. More »

mall-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a distinct clinicopathologic entity that is characterized by neuroendocrine differentiation, early metastatic spread, and initial responsiveness to cytotoxic therapy. More »

Eli Lilly and Company announced it received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of pemetrexed (Alimta), in combination with cisplatin, in the first-line treatment of locally advanced and metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), for patients with nonsquamous histology. Pemetrexed is not indicated for treatment of patients with squamous cell NSCLC. More »