What’s new in the treatment of advanced small-cell lung cancer

Although the incidence of lung cancer has been declining since 2000, it has remained the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide for the last 10 years for both sexes (1,2). Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), which accounts for approximately 15% of lung cancers, continues to have a dismal prognosis due to its aggressive biological characteristics, with an overall 5-year survival rate of less than 10% (3). SCLC is highly sensitive to initial chemotherapy; however, nearly all patients eventually relapse. The only FDA-approved treatment for relapsed SCLC in the past 2 decades has been single-agent topotecan, but it has a poor response rate (7%), and its survival rate is unacceptable (4,5)