Hello dawgs,
Below is a quote from a blog/post on sclc. You must scroll to the second half of the post to read more on extensive stage and 2nd and beyond treatment.
"As mentioned above, it is expected that cancer will eventually progress in a patient with ED-SCLC at some time point following the completion of first line therapy, usually in the range of months. At the time of progression, patients are most commonly treated with a drug called topotecan (Hycamtin). This drug is FDA approved for the treatment of patients with ED-SCLC whose cancer has progressed following treatment with prior chemotherapy and has been shown to improve qualify of life and also survival in this setting."
The post goes on the say other drugs are such as taxol and gemzar are sometimes used if further treatment is used.
Here Dr. West had this to say about sclc and taxotere, "Taxotere is one of several agents that does have some rather limited activity in SCLC. Unfortunately, in second line and definitely beyond, there isn't any therapy that emerges as an especially strong choice, but Taxotere is as good as any. The real issue, I fear, is that I would not realistically expect the outcome to be better with Taxotere or another very minimally active therapy to be more effective in third line than topotecan was in second line. It can also be challenging to tolerate, especially in patients who have been heavily pre-treated." http://cancergrace.org/forums/index.php?topic=11315.0
I hope this helps in a very difficult circumstance. I'm so sorry there isn't any better answers to give.
I don't have much to add. Taxotere isn't the most common treatment pursued in second line for SCLC (that would be topotecan), but it's a fine choice in the scheme of things, especially since topotecan is far from miraculous.
Reply # - October 2, 2012, 12:20 PM
Reply To: Taxotere as a second line treatment for SCLC.
Hello dawgs,
Below is a quote from a blog/post on sclc. You must scroll to the second half of the post to read more on extensive stage and 2nd and beyond treatment.
"As mentioned above, it is expected that cancer will eventually progress in a patient with ED-SCLC at some time point following the completion of first line therapy, usually in the range of months. At the time of progression, patients are most commonly treated with a drug called topotecan (Hycamtin). This drug is FDA approved for the treatment of patients with ED-SCLC whose cancer has progressed following treatment with prior chemotherapy and has been shown to improve qualify of life and also survival in this setting."
The post goes on the say other drugs are such as taxol and gemzar are sometimes used if further treatment is used.
http://cancergrace.org/lung/2010/08/07/treatment-of-small-cell-lung-can…
Here Dr. West had this to say about sclc and taxotere, "Taxotere is one of several agents that does have some rather limited activity in SCLC. Unfortunately, in second line and definitely beyond, there isn't any therapy that emerges as an especially strong choice, but Taxotere is as good as any. The real issue, I fear, is that I would not realistically expect the outcome to be better with Taxotere or another very minimally active therapy to be more effective in third line than topotecan was in second line. It can also be challenging to tolerate, especially in patients who have been heavily pre-treated."
http://cancergrace.org/forums/index.php?topic=11315.0
I hope this helps in a very difficult circumstance. I'm so sorry there isn't any better answers to give.
All the best,
Janine
forum moderator
Reply # - October 2, 2012, 06:12 PM
Reply To: Taxotere as a second line treatment for SCLC.
I don't have much to add. Taxotere isn't the most common treatment pursued in second line for SCLC (that would be topotecan), but it's a fine choice in the scheme of things, especially since topotecan is far from miraculous.
Good luck.
-Dr. West