LU22

Surgical resection with or without pre-operative chemotherapy in patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer

Can giving platinum based chemotherapy before surgery help people with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)?

What was this study about?

In the 1990’s, two small trials asked whether giving patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) platinum based chemotherapy before surgery could help them to survive longer. Both trials suggested that this was the case. But researchers and doctors weren’t sure how confident they could be about these results. So they set up LU22 – the largest trial to address this question so far.

What difference did this study make?

This trial showed that it was possible to give people chemotherapy before surgery, and that giving chemotherapy did not reduce their quality of life. But it did not seem to help them to live longer.

Researchers brought together the results of all of the trials looking at whether giving chemotherapy before surgery could help people with NSCLC, by doing a systematic review and lu22@ctu.mrc.ac.uk

Who funded the study?

The Medical Research Council.

When did it take place?

This trial recruited patients between 1997 and 2005. The results of the trial were published in June 2007.

Who was included?

519 patients from 70 centres in the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands were randomised to receive either surgery alone, or chemotherapy before surgery.

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