The IEP regimen is considered as an

The IEP regimen is considered as an alternative first‑line treatment option for SCLC by an increasing number of physicians; however, it is our opinion that the superiority of IEP to EP requires further clinical confirmation, as different RCTs reported inconsistent results . Loehrer et al first reported a group study comparing the IEP to the EP regimen in 163 patients with extensive SCLC and observed significant differences in terms of time‑to‑progression and OS in favor of the IEP arm. However, Miyamoto et al reported that IEP was not superior to EP chemotherapy in SCLC. Subsequently, Zhou et al and Wu et al further confirmed the results of Loehrer et al in their clinical studies; in addition, Wu et al proved that IEP may also used as salvage chemotherapy for patients with SCLC who failed to respond to EP chemotherapy