Neoadjuvant Platinum-based Chemotherapy for Patients With Resectable , Non-small Cell Lung Cancer With Switch to Chemotherapy Alternative in Nonresponders (NEOSCAN)

The purpose of this study is to test a new approach to the use of standard drugs before surgery in patients with lung cancer. This study will find out what effects, good and/or bad, that this approach has on the cancer.

It is routine to give chemotherapy prior to surgery in patients with this type of lung cancer, to help keep it from coming back. It is also routine to perform a special type of scan called a PET scan. This PET scan measures how active a cancer is by use of a special tracer made out of sugar. In this study, all patients will have a PET scan and then be treated with standard chemotherapy drugs, either pemetrexed and cisplatin if the cancer is a "non-squamous" cancer or gemcitabine and cisplatin if the cancer is a squamous cancer. In rare cases, the doctor will decide to give carboplatin instead of cisplatin. In most patients, a repeat PET scan will show that the tumor is decreasing and they will complete standard chemotherapy then go on to have surgery.

In some patients, a repeat PET scan will show that the tumor has not decreased enough. For these patients, the routine practice is to proceed with surgery. This research study will test whether switching from the standard treatment of pemetrexed and cisplatin or gemcitabine and cisplatin to a different treatment called vinorelbine and docetaxel is safe and effective. Vinorelbine and docetaxel are also standard chemotherapy drugs which work in a different way than pemetrexed or gemcitabine and cisplatin.