Irinotecan in small cell lung cancer

Irinotecan(CPT-11)is effective against small-cell lung cancer(SCLC)both in sin- gle and combined regimen.Studies of SCLC show that irinotecan and cisplatin(IP)regimen can improve patient survival compared with etoposide and cisplatin(EP)regimen as first-line treatment.However, Irinotecan-induced diarrhoea is pervasive,and can be severe and life-threatening.This article will review the response rates and side-effects of irinotecan in the treatment of SCLC.