No abstract

To complement the existing treatment guidelines for all tumour types, ESMO organises consensus conferences to focus on specific issues in each type of tumour. The 2nd ESMO Consensus Conference on Lung Cancer was held on 11-12 May 2013 in Lugano. A total of 35 experts met to address several questions on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in each of four areas: pathology and molecular biomarkers, first-line/second and further lines of treatment in advanced disease, early-stage disease and locally advanced disease. For each question, recommendations were made including reference to the grade of recommendation and level of evidence. This consensus paper focuses on locally advanced disease.

Although the trial closed prematurely and definitive statements regarding the efficacy of adjuvant gefitinib cannot be made, these results indicate that it is unlikely to be of benefit.

Most elderly patients with AdvNSCLC do not receive chemotherapy, yet there are clear survival benefits, even with controls for age, comorbidity, and PS. The benefit of platinum-based doublet regimens is greater than single-agent chemotherapy. Claims-based proxy indicators of poor PS were independent predictors of treatment and merit further exploration.