Polychemotherapy in advanced non small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis.

We did a meta-analysis of all published polychemotherapy vs supportive care clinical trials in patients with non-resectable non small cell lung cancer. 7 studies with more than 700 patients were selected. We used the number of deaths at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months as the endpoints because we were unable to obtain all the individual data. Our analysis showed a reduction in mortality during the first 6 months with polychemotherapy. Although small, this increase in survival, together with an improved quality of life, suggests that polychemotherapy should be recommended for patients with non-resectable non small cell lung cancer.