Second line chemotherapy exposure in a German Cancer Society certified lung cancer center: single center experience of 3 years and relevance for maintenance therapy

Introduction: One of the strongest rationale for maintenance therapy in NSCLC is the fact that exposure to 2nd line therapy is only 40 – 60% in clinical trials in specialized treatment centers. Even with follow-up intervals of 6 weeks, the 2nd line treatment rate does not seem to increase in clinical trials. One of the main arguments for maintenance treatment is that 2nd line exposure in international clinical trials does not reflect the situation of treatment management in Germany. Therefore, we analyzed the exposure of patients with stage IV NSCLC in one German Cancer Society certified Lung Cancer Center since…