Key clinical point: Carboplatin plus etoposide was superior to topotecan in second-line treatment of patients with advanced or relapsed, sensitive small-cell lung cancer.

Major finding: The median progression-free survival was significantly longer with carboplatin plus etoposide than with topotecan (4.7 months and 2.7 months, respectively; stratified hazard ratio 0.57; P = .0041).

Study details: The phase 3 trial included 164 patients with advanced or relapsed, sensitive small-cell lung cancer who were followed for a median of 22.7 months after randomization to carboplatin plus etoposide or topotecan.

Disclosures: The study was funded by Amgen and the French Lung Cancer Group (Groupe Français de Pneumo-Cancérologie). The authors disclosed relationships with many companies.