Treatment by stage for small cell lung cancer

If you have early stage small cell lung cancer you are most likely to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy to the lung. It is quite common for this type of cancer to spread to the brain. So doctors often recommend that people with early small cell lung cancer have radiotherapy to the brain to try to kill any cancer cells that may have already spread there. This is called prophylactic cranial irradiation or PCI.

If you have very early stage small cell lung cancer that has not spread to any lymph nodes, you may have surgery to remove the part of the lung containing the tumour (a lobectomy) followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. But usually the cancer has already spread at the time of diagnosis and surgery is not then possible.

If you have small cell cancer that has spread to lymph nodes or other areas of the body you may have chemotherapy, radiotherapy or biological therapy treatment to relieve symptoms. If chemotherapy works well to shrink the lung tumour down and you are fairly fit you may also have radiotherapy to the brain to kill any cancer cells that may have already spread there. This is called prophylactic cranial irradiation or PCI.

Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Treatment by Stage

Limited-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

Treatment of limited-stage small cell lung cancer may include the following:

* Combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy to the chest, with or without radiation therapy to the brain.

* Combination chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to the brain in patients with complete response.

* Combination chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to the chest.

* Surgery followed by chemotherapy or chemotherapy plus radiation therapy to the chest, with or without radiation therapy to the brain.

* Clinical trials of new chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation treatments.

This summary refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from NCI Web site.

Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

Treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer may include the following:

* Chemotherapy.

* Combination chemotherapy.

* Combination chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to the brain for patients with complete response.

* Radiation therapy to the brain, spine, bone, or other parts of the body where the cancer has spread, as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.

* Clinical trials of new chemotherapy treatments.