PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Rittmeyer, Achim AU - Schiwitza, Annett AU - Sahovic, Lejla AU - Eul, Bastian AU - Andreas, Stefan TI - Update on recent key publications in lung oncology: picking up speed AID - 10.1183/16000617.0300-2020 DP - 2021 Sep 30 TA - European Respiratory Review PG - 200300 VI - 30 IP - 161 4099 - https://publications.ersnet.org//content/30/161/200300.short 4100 - https://publications.ersnet.org//content/30/161/200300.full SO - EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW2021 Sep 30; 30 AB - Introduction As incidence rates for lung cancer are still very high and lung cancer remains the most deadly cancer since the turn of the millennium, efforts have been made to find new approaches in cancer research. This systematic review highlights how therapeutic options were extended and how the development of new drugs has picked up speed during the last 20 years.Methods A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library and the European Union Trial Register and 443 records were identified. Our inclusion criteria constituted completed phase I, II and III studies investigating drugs approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Overall, 127 articles were analysed.Results During the 5 year interval from 2015 to 2020, significantly more drugs were approved after phase III, and occasionally after phase II, trials than between 2000 and 2005 (p=0.002). Furthermore, there was a significant time difference (p=0.00001) indicating an increasingly briefer time interval between the publication of phase I and phase III results in the last few years.Discussion Due to novel therapeutic approaches, numerous new drugs in lung oncology were approved. This has improved symptoms and prognoses in patients with advanced lung cancer. However, faster approval could make it difficult to scrutinise new options regarding safety and efficacy with sufficient diligence.In the past two decades, an increasing number of new drugs received EMA approval. The reason for this is an increasingly better understanding of lung cancer, and decreasing mandatory intervals before approval between early and late trials. https://bit.ly/3g1jfpq