O-157 Survival benefit of oral topotecan plus supportive care versus supportive care alone in relapsed, resistant SCLC

Third-line chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer

“…The authors partly attributed this survival benefit to the better performance status of patients treated with second-line chemotherapy, which may also play a role in our study. In a randomised study, O'Brien et al observed a median survival of 3.1 months in patients treated with best supportive care alone [8]. Together, our 26% response rate and 5 months survival time may suggest that third-line chemotherapy is a feasible option for treating SCLC.…”

Phase II trial of second-line bendamustine chemotherapy in relapsed small cell lung cancer patients

“…Therefore, the treatment-related mortality of our trial was 5% (1 out of 21 patients). Treatment-related mortality was 4% in the topotecan arm and 3% in the CAV arm [1] and 4% in the study of O'Brien et al [2].…”

“…Recently, a randomized phase III trial comparing topotecan chemotherapy to best supportive care demonstrated a significant prolongation of survival in patients with relapsed SCLC [2]. Patients treated in the topotecan arm had a median survival of 6.0 months compared to 3.5 months in the best supportive care arm.…”

“…Response rate was 7% and the rate of disease stabilizations was 44%. Patients with refractory and sensitive disease had been included into that trial [2]. Another randomized phase III study compared topotecan monotherapy to CAV combination consisting of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and vincristine [1].…”

“…Toxicity profile favoured the topotecan regimen [1]. A second randomized phase III trial demonstrated a survival benefit for patients treated with second-line topotecan when compared to best supportive care only [2].…”