Secondary abstract: |
Primary lung cancer is the most common malignancy after non-melanocytic skin cancer, and deaths from lung cancer exceed those from any other malignancy worldwide. In Slovenia, it is the fourth most common cancer in males and in females, and the leading cause of death due to cancer. The historically poor survival rates of lung cancer patients (5-year relative survival of approx. 12 %) are improving, mainly due to the introduction of novel systemic therapies in the treatment algorithms. Systemic treatment is an important part of treatment in all stages of the disease as well as in all pathohistological subtypes of lung cancer. In operable disease, adjuvant systemic therapy with platinum- based schemas is recommended for a vast majority of patients. In locoregional disease, chemotherapy is used as concomitant with radiotherapy. Systemic treatment is the cornerstone of treatment in metastatic disease. The treatment strategy should take into account factors like histology, molecular pathology, age, PS, co-morbidities and the patient’s preferences. Systemic therapy should be considered in all stage IV patients with PS 0-2. Treatment decisions should ideally be discussed within a multidisciplinary tumor board, while the systemic treatment has to be performed by a specialist highly educated and skilled in systemic treatment of cancer. Slovenian guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow up were last published in 2006. In near future, a new, updated version will be published. Hereby, we only present the updated guidelines for systemic treatment. These guidelines were developed in a collaboration of the specialists from three institutions: Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, University Clinic Golnik, and University Clinical Centre Maribor. |