Lung cancer - small cell

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Adenocarcinoma	Adenocarcinoma - chest X-ray	Bronchial cancer - chest X-ray	Bronchial cancer - CT scan
Bronchoscope	Bronchoscopy	Large cell carcinoma	Lung cancer, frontal chest X-ray
Lung cancer, lateral chest X-ray	Lung cancer - chemotherapy treatment	Lungs	Lung with squamous cell cancer - CT scan
Normal lungs and alveoli	Respiratory system	Secondhand Smoke and Lung Cancer	Small cell carcinoma
Smoking hazards	Squamous cell carcinoma

Cancer - lung - small cell; Small cell lung cancer; SCLC

Because small cell lung cancer spreads quickly throughout the body, treatment must include cancer-killing drugs (chemotherapy) taken by mouth or injected into the body. Chemotherapy may be combined with high-powered x-rays (radiation therapy).

Surgery is rarely used to treat small cell lung cancer. It is only considered if it is limited small cell lung cancer with only one tumor that hasn't spread. Chemotherapy or radiation will be needed after surgery. However, because the disease has usually spread by the time it is diagnosed, very few patients with small cell lung cancer are candidates for surgery.

Combination chemotherapy and radiation treatment is given to persons with extensive small cell lung cancer. However, the treatment only helps relieve symptoms; it does not cure the disease.

Some patients with limited small cell lung cancer may receive radiation therapy to the head after they have completed treatment for the lung area. This method, called prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI), helps prevent any lung cancer from spreading to the brain.

For additional information and resources, see cancer support group.

How well a patient does depends on how much the lung cancer has spread. This type of cancer is very deadly. Only about 6% of people with this type of cancer are still alive after 5 years.

• Cancer spreads to other parts of the body
• Side effects of surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy

Call your health care provider if you have symptoms of lung cancer (particularly if you smoke).

Review Date: 07/31/2006
Reviewed By: Rita Nanda, M.D., Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.