The safety of second-line treatment options for non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients after first-line therapy ultimately suffer progression. At this time, many patients still have a good performance status and can be considered for further active treatment. Two chemotherapeutic agents, docetaxel and pemetrexed (only in non-squamous histology), and the biological drug anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) erlotinib, were approved for clinical use in the second-line treatment of NSCLC patients. In the last few years further new second-line therapies have become available in the clinical practice. Areas covered: This review will discuss the adverse events of the pivotal trials ledding to the approval of second-line therapies for the treatment of not oncogene-addicted NSCLC patients. Expert opinion: In recent years, new second-line options for NSCLC are: the anti-EGFR, afatinib (only in squamous NSCLC); the anti-angiogenics, nintedanib (only in lung adenocarcinoma) and ramucirumab, in combination with docetaxel; the immunotherapeutics, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab. In the second-line approach, the main endpoint of treatment should always be survival, but with great respect for symptoms palliation and preserving patients' quality of life. Therefore, differing toxicity profiles of the available therapeutic options are often a deciding factor in second-line setting for NSCLC.