The water-soluble topoisomerase I inhibitor topotecan [‘Hycamtin’; SmithKline Beecham] is currently available for the second-line treatment of patients with ovarian cancer. It may also offer a more convenient single-agent approach in the second-line treatment of patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) according to results from a phase III clinical study presented at the 6th World Conference on Lung Cancer [Dublin, Ireland; August 1997].