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Vol.55 No.6 contents | Japanese/English |
 | Full Text of PDF (1581K) Article in Japanese |
- Review Article -
Current Status and Future Perspective on Cytotoxic Agents for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung
Hiroshige Yoshioka11Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kurashiki Central Hospital, Japan
The mainstay of medical treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had been chemotherapy with cytotoxic agents, as represented by a two-drug combination of a platinum compound plus a third-generation anti-cancer drug, for decades. However, the development of molecular targeted agents, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors and anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors, has substantially contributed to progress in the management of NSCLC in recent years. Moreover, maintenance therapy with pemetrexed has been shown to prolong the overall survival of patients. These advancements are, however, limited to non-squamous NSCLC, and cytotoxic agents continue to serve as the standard treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (squamous NSCLC). On the other hand, clinical trials are actively ongoing to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of promising cytotoxic agents such as S-1, nab-paclitaxel, and nedaplatin in patients with squamous NSCLC. Nedaplatin combined with docetaxel was demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of squamous NSCLC in 2015. In addition, newly developed drugs such as an anti-EGFR antibody and immune checkpoint inhibitors are emerging. Major advances in the medical treatment of squamous NSCLC are expected in the near future.
key words: Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, Cytotoxic agent, S-1, nab-paclitaxel, Nedaplatin
JJLC 55 (6): 973-981, 2015
