Atezolizumab for previous treated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: should it be worthy for the clinical practice?

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death. American epidemiological data show that the incidence and mortality rate of lung cancer in the US is 57.3 and 46.0 per 100,000, respectively, with 224,390 new cases and 158,050 deaths estimated in 2016 (1,2). Globally, more than 1.5 million lung cancer-related deaths occurred in 2012 (2,3). Lung cancer has a significant economic burden. Its cost represents approximately 10% of the US cancer care expenditure, which was more than 12 billion dollars in 2010 (4).