Platinum versus non-platinum chemotherapy regimens for small cell lung cancer (Review)

Abstract

A comparison of platinum-based and non-platinum-based chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of small cell lung cancer Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a very aggressive form of cancer due to early metastasis. As a result, chemotherapy forms the mainstay of treatment. This review compared platinum-based chemotherapy regimens and non-platinum-based chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of SCLC. The results show that there is no significant difference between platinum-based and non-platinum-based chemotherapy regimens in terms of survival and overall (complete and partial) tumour response. However, platinum-based regimens did have better complete tumour response rates. Platinum-based regimens also had higher levels of nausea and vomiting, anaemia and thrombocytopenia toxicity. Further research into the quality of life associated with these treatment regimens is needed.