The role of docetaxel in N2 locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are a heterogeneous group often treated with multimodality therapy. Docetaxel has an established role in the treatment of advanced-stage NSCLC and has demonstrated promising activity in the locally advanced setting. Herein, we review the available data on the role of docetaxel in locally advanced NSCLC. The phase I/II data regarding the use of docetaxel concomitantly with radiation as a single agent or combined with platinum compounds are reviewed. In addition, we discuss the role of docetaxel induction therapy before surgery or definitive radiation therapy. Additionally, we address the role of docetaxel in consolidation therapy in patients with locally advanced NSCLC.

Therapeutic Strategies for Combined-Modality Therapy of Locally Advanced-Stage Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Rationale for Consolidation Docetaxel Therapy

Currently, there is no accepted standard of care for locally advanced and surgically unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer. Typically, treatment for patients with good performance status consists of a combination of chemotherapy and thoracic radiation therapy (RT), but the integration of these modalities and the respective dose schedules vary considerably. Herein, we review the rationale for a treatment paradigm employing consolidation docetaxel therapy after concurrent chemotherapy/RT and the results of recent clinical trials using this approach.

How Today's Developments in the Treatment of Non‐Small Cell Lung Cancer Will Change Tomorrow's Standards of Care

Cisplatin (Platinol; Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ, http://www.bms.com) and carboplatin (Paraplatin; Bristol-Myers Squibb), together with newer chemotherapies, such as docetaxel (Taxotere; Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bridgewater, NJ, http://www.aventispharma-us.com), paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb), vinorelbine (Navelbine; GlaxoSmith-Kline, Philadelphia, http://www.gsk.com), pemetrexed (Alimta; Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, http://www.lilly.com), and gemcitabine (Gemzar; Eli Lilly and Company), have improved treatment outcomes in both advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and in the adjuvant/neoadjuvant setting. Newer systemic treatments for NSCLC, used in advanced stage IV management, are beginning to be studied in earlier stages of the disease, when treatment is better tolerated and potentially curative. Hopefully, newer agents with proven efficacies in advanced disease will enhance curability. Following the successful addition of bevacizumab (Avastin; Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, http://www.gene.com) to carboplatin/paclitaxel in advanced disease, bevacizumab is now being incorporated into adjuvant and neoadjuvant trials. Trials in stage IB-IIIA patients will study neoadjuvant docetaxel/cisplatin/bevacizumab. The discovery that patients with exon 19 and 21 mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor gene EGFR have around an 80% response rate to gefitinib (Iressa; AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Wilmington, DE, http:// www.astrazeneca-us.com) and that this response confers survival benefit indicates its potential utility for mutation-positive patients with advanced- and earlier-stage disease. Clinical characteristics, such as never smoking status and adenocarcinoma, and especially bronchioloalveolar carcinoma histological features, can also identify individuals likely to respond to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Studies of neoadjuvant erlotinib (Tarceva; OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Melville, NY, http://www.osip.com) in operable NSCLC are planned. One such study includes cisplatin and docetaxel. Effective development of active agents and disease management based on molecular profiling of lung tumors will change tomorrow's standard of care.