Chemotherapy versus best supportive care in the management of lung cancer.

This study was planned to evaluate the role of chemotherapy in improving survival in patients with inoperable lung cancer. Seventy eight patients with histologically proven lung cancer were followed up for a period of one year. Thirty eight out of them received chemotherapy and 40 patients received supportive care only. Main outcome measure was survival from the date of diagnosis. The patients receiving chemotherapy had a median survival of 23.2 weeks compared to that of 10.1 weeks in patients receiving best supportive care. Among patients with non-small cell lung cancer, median survival was 27.0 weeks in chemotherapy group and 10.3 weeks in supportive care group. Patients who received cisplatin plus docetaxel combination had a better survival than those who received MIC (mitomycin, ifosfamide, cisplatin) combination. Patients with good performance status benefited more from chemotherapy, although patients with poorer performance status also had significant improvement in survival with chemotherapy. In conclusion, chemotherapy results in a modest, but significant improvement in survival in patients with inoperable lung cancer compared to best supportive care alone.