OBJECTIVES To identify commonly prescribed first-, second-, and third-line chemotherapy regimens for persons with lung cancer and to evaluate the utilization patterns and costs of care associated with receiving these regimens. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective data analysis. METHODS Using health insurance claims from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2006, patients with lung cancer were identi...

Evidence has suggested survival benefits of maintenance for advanced NSCLC patients not progressing after first-line chemotherapy. Additionally, particular first-line targeted therapies have shown survival improvements in selected populations. Optimal first-line and maintenance therapies remain unclear. Here, currently available evidence was synthesized to elucidate optimal first-line and maint...

Palliative chemotherapy has been shown to improve survival compared with best supportive care alone in patients with unresectable or recurrent gastric cancer. However, patients receiving chemotherapy eventually develop progressive disease. At this stage, no standard second-line chemotherapy can be offered. No randomised-controlled trial data suggest a benefit of second-line chemotherapy compare...

BACKGROUND Efficacy of second-line chemotherapy in platinum-pretreated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poor. This study investigated efficacy of computed tomography-guided percutaneous fine-needle 5% ethanol-cisplatin intratumoral injection (CT-PFNECII) combined with second-line chemotherapy in patients with platinum-pretreated stage IV NSCLC. PATIENTS Between October 2011 and July 2013...

BACKGROUND To describe chemotherapy treatment patterns and clinical outcomes in metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (mSTS) patients with favorable response to chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS Multicenter (25) multi-country (9) retrospective chart review of mSTS patients with favorable response to chemotherapy, defined as stable disease or better following four cycles. RESULTS Two hundred and t...

Neuroblastoma is a high-grade malignancy of childhood. It is chemo- and radio-sensitive but prone to relapse after initial remission. The aim of the current study was to study the results of the first- and second-line chemotherapy on the short-term response and long-term survival of children, and to further describe the side effects of treatment. Ninety-five children with advanced neuroblastoma...

INTRODUCTION Clinical evidence comparing chemotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as second-line therapy for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wild-type non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are conflicting. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed stage IV EGFR wild-type NSCLC patients who relapsed on first-line chemotherapy at the Shanghai Chest Hospital to compare the efficacy of T...

BACKGROUND The effects of first-line chemotherapy on overall survival (OS) might be confounded by subsequent therapies in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Therefore, the objective of our study was to determine the relationships between progression-free survival (PFS) or post-progression survival (PPS) and OS after first-line chemotherapy in elderly patients with extensive disease-SC...

BACKGROUND This study analyzed the negative prognostic factors in patients who received second-line chemotherapy for advanced inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the records of 137 patients with inoperable stage III-IV NSCLC who received second-line chemotherapy. The effects of clinical parameters on survival were analyzed and the hazard ratios (...