Sleep better on combination therapy: SLFN11 predicts response to veliparib and temozolomide in recurrent small cell lung cancer

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a devastating disease with rapid progression and limited treatment options (1). Topotecan is the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatment option for recurrent or progressive SCLC, but has a median time to progression of less than four months (2). More effective therapies are urgently needed. Alkylating agents have shown single-agent efficacy in SCLC (3), and a recent phase II clinical trial demonstrated that temozolomide (TMZ), a non-classic oral alkylating agent, had activity in relapsed SCLC [overall response rate (ORR) 20%], particularly for brain metastasis (4). However, the median progression-free survival (PFS) time of TMZ was still only 3.5 months.