摘要
Aim:To investigate the frequencies and trends of brain metastases(BMs)as exclusion criteria in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer(ES-SCLC)trials.Methods:We conducted a comprehensive search to identify prospective clinical trials in patients with ES-SCLC.PubMed searches were conducted with the key words“small cell lung cancer”and“extensive”.The online archives of 20 oncology journals were also searched.Recent review articles in ES-SCLC were also investigated for additional articles.Eligible studies must have enrolled primarily ES-SCLC and been published in English.Studies involving brain/chest radiation and brain metastasis-specific trials were excluded.Studies were categorized into allowed/undefined,conditional,or complete exclusion of BM.Results:In total,491 published studies were identified by PubMed(240),journal websites(198),and review articles(53).Early publication year(1970-1999)and first-line/maintenance setting were associated with higher incidence of complete exclusion of cases with BMs(P<0.0001 and 0.0233,respectively).Incidence of complete exclusion was 27%in the 1990s,and then decreased to 12%in the 2000s and 8%in the 2010s.Conclusion:A significant number of ES-SCLC trials continues to exclude patients with BM.Future studies need to ease eligibility regarding BM according to ASCO/Friends recommendations.
