Long term follow-up of neoadjuvant-adjuvant combination treatment of IIIA stage non-small-cell-lung cancer: results of neoadjuvant carboplatin/vinorelbine and carboplatin/paclitaxel regimens combined with selective adjuvant chemotherapy according to in-vitro chemoresistance test.

Aim: A prospective study investigated survival of patients with stage IIIA non-small-cell-lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with a combination of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: Consecutive chemo-naive patients with potentially operable stage IIIA NSCLC received carboplatin-based neoadjuvant treatment. Tumor cells harvested during surgery underwent methylthiazolyl tetrazolium blue (MTT) cytotoxic assay.