As an adjunct to a meta-analysis of chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a survey was conducted in England and Wales of clinicians' views on the role of chemotherapy in NSCLC and the benefits it would have to offer to lead them to change their practice. Radiotherapists, medical oncologists, surgeons and physicians specializing in thoracic medicine, and physicians of palliative medicine were asked their views on the treatment of three case histories of 65 yr old men: Case 1, resected tumour involving a hilar lymph node (tumour (T)2, node (N)1, metastasis (M)0); Case 2, tumour that had spread to mediastinal lymph nodes bilaterally (T2, N3, M0); and Case 3, metastatic cancer (M1) accompanied by minor haemoptysis. Six hundred and ninety eight (85%) of the 821 clinicians responded. For Case 1, 74% would not recommend any adjuvant treatment, 24% would recommend radiotherapy, and <1% chemotherapy, and there was little expectation that adjuvant treatment would improve survival. For Case 2, 68% would recommend radiotherapy, 11% chemotherapy, and 1% surgery, 7% recommending a combination. Adjuvant treatment, regardless of modality, was expected to improve survival. For Case 3, only 11% would recommend chemotherapy, but 26% if the patient was aged < or = 50 yrs. There was little expectation of survival beyond 1 yr, or of improving survival with chemotherapy. For all three cases, most of those not recommending chemotherapy would require it to achieve substantially improved survival for them to use it routinely. Surgery alone is currently considered sufficient for resectable non-small cell lung cancer. Chemotherapy is rarely recommended for disease of any stage.