Second-line treatment options in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): report from an International Experts Panel Meeting of the Italian Association of Thoracic Oncology

Abstract

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients inevitably progress to first-line therapy and further active treatments are warranted. In the last few years, new second-line therapies, beyond chemo-agents, have become available in the clinical practice. To date, several options for the second-line treatment of non-oncogene-addicted NSCLC patients ranging from chemotherapy in combination with anti- vascular endothelial growth factor receptor to immunotherapeutics are available. In oncogene-driven tumors, the better knowledge of mechanisms of acquired resistance to earlier TKIs is leading to novel active inhibitors now available/in development. The second-line algorithm treatment of NSCLC becomes very intricate and the selection of proper patients with one of the new available therapeutic options is of paramount importance to personalize and optimize the treatment. This review will discuss the second-line treatment opportunities of both addicted and not-addicted NSCLC.